Tasmania’s peak tourism body has called for consistency in quality of experiences as the state continues to grow its visitor numbers.
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Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the state needed to ensure visitors would have the same high-quality experience in the regions as they would in the Launceston CBD or in Salamanca.
His comments come as recent statistics show more than 260,000 people visited a cellar door in 2016 – representing a 22.5 per cent increase on 2015.
Mr Martin acknowledged the number of people visiting vineyards was “growing dramatically”.
But the increase in tourism has not been exclusive to the quality of Tasmania grapes.
New whiskey, gin and brewery experiences are opening and drawing visitors across the state.
On May 6 Mathew and Julie Cooper will open their whiskey distillery at Lulworth in the state’s North-East.
Their product, Fanny’s Bay Single-Malt Whiskey, will be the latest in a growing line of Tasmania-crafted products.
The couple had confidence to open a distillery after talking with other people in the industry, and growing interest in the product.
He said there was already a number of retailers in the state interested in the product.
“A large number of Melbourne and Sydney whiskey bars are also keen to get hold of the product,” Mr Cooper said.
Mr Martin attributed the increased interest in wine, whiskey, gin and craft beer, to more choice in Tasmania.
“We’ve just got more operators doing great experiences now – it’s right across the board,” he said.
Every few years a Visitor Motivation Survey asks people the reason for their visit to Tasmania.
While heritage and wilderness experiences have traditionally rated highly, Mr Martin expects produce experiences will be a growing reason.
The tourism executive said the visitor increase in the produce and drink sector had been replicated across the state’s arts, heritage and nature experiences.
But Mr Martin said the challenge was to grow tourism investment in regional areas.
“We’ve got to grow demand and keep the visitor numbers coming,” he said.
Mr Martin said ensuring visitors who enjoyed “fantastic seafood in Hobart” did not “struggle to get a decent cup of coffee” in the regions, was a key challenge.
“We need to maintain consistency across the state,” he said.
Mr Martin said that could be achieved by encouraging regional businesses to invest in full-time chefs and develop skills.