On Wednesday, Tourism Research Australia released its annual Travel by Australians survey, which collates data on domestic travel.

The survey found that Australians were travelling to Tasmania less than they were for the year to December 2015.

According to TRA, overnight visitors to Tasmania for the year to December 2016 were down roughly 7 per cent on the previous year’s figures.

The survey found that visitor nights to Tasmania in general had declined by roughly 5 per cent.

Overnight trip expenditure in the state reportedly took a hit as well, down from $2.157 billion to $2.051 billion.

On the other hand, the survey found that overnight spending for travel across the country was up by 5 per cent.

Furthermore, overnight trips were up by 4 per cent across the board, as were total visitor nights.

A government spokesperson said the “greater volatility” of the TRA’s statistics for interstate trips to Tasmania meant that Tourism Tasmania used Tasmanian Visitor Survey figures instead.

The spokesperson said the TVS results were “nationally recognised as being the most accurate statistics on interstate visitors to Tasmania”.

Similarly, Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the sample size used by TRA was much smaller than that which was used in conducting the TVS, and, thus, could not necessarily be relied on.

Opposition tourism spokesman Scott Bacon said it was “food for thought” that Tasmania was the only state to record a decrease in overnight domestic visitors.

“It’s … critical that Tasmania’s brand remains intact and Labor fears the government’s confrontational style could have unwanted consequences,” Mr Bacon said

While the TVS found the average number of nights spent in Tasmania had reduced by 0.1 per cent for the year to December 2016, it also found that $2.15 billion had been spent here by interstate visitors.