A "BUMPER" tourist season could be responsible for water restrictions at Swansea, Triabunna and Orford, according to Glamorgan and Spring Bay mayor Michael Kent.
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The towns were placed on stage one water restrictions on Wednesday in an attempt to reduce water usage in the towns by 20 per cent.
While acknowledging tourism as a positive for the state's East Coast, Cr Kent also said the industry could be affecting the region's resources.
"Tourism is what the East Coast of Tasmania is all about and it's a good thing," Cr Kent said.
"[But] it's increased the usage of water hugely."
Cr Kent said he'd seen more people on the East Coast this summer than ever before.
"The influx of visitors, shack owners and permanent residence far exceeds anything else I've seen for the last 10 or 12 years since I've been on the coast ... the caravan parks have been full, and of course all those people use water."
The last recorded Tasmanian Visitor Survey showed a 14 per cent jump in visitation numbers, with the state receiving a 28 per cent increase in international visitors - the most in any state or territory across Australia.
Total visitor expenditure also increased by 12 per cent during the same period.
TasWater has established an incident management team to meet weekly to discuss the water supplies at risk during the ongoing dry period across the state.
TasWater regional services operations department manager Mark McConnon said last week that towns on stage one restrictions could have them raised to stage two restrictions at any point.
Stage two restrictions aim to reduce water usage by 50 per cent.
It is the first time in TasWater's history that towns other than Bridport have been placed on water restrictions.
