Ensuring Tasmania has adequate infrastructure to support the state’s tourism growth is vital to the longevity of the industry, according to tourism bodies.
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Tasmania has seen ongoing increases in tourism, up 7 per cent in 2016, and Tourism Northern Tasmania chief executive Chris Griffin said adequate tourism infrastructure into the future ensures visitors have a good experience, spread positive word of mouth and will likely return.
“When you have infrastructure that enables [tourists] to access the places that they've come to Tasmania for, in an intelligent way, it adds quite a substantive value to their satisfaction,” he said.
“If you're coming to an environment that’s heavily crowded, with long queues for the toilet, transport options that aren't clean or efficient, the quality all those things have a bearing upon what you think of that place.”
A Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania document outlining their infrastructure priorities ahead of the state election stated the importance of upgrading tourism infrastructure to handle the pressure placed on it from the state’s soaring tourism.
“The achieve our T21 target of 1.5 million visitors in 2020, and continue to grow one of the world’s’s great visitor economies here in Tasmania, we need to invest in our visitor infrastructure in the areas where it is most needed,” the report stated.
There are a number of fast-growing areas in the North and North West, which will become the focus of infrastructure concerns.
Mr Griffin said the areas of road safety, easy-to-follow directional signage and basic infrastructure like water and sewerage are the main areas of focus.
Priority Areas
Cradle Mountain
There has been an 11 per cent increase in visitors to Cradle Mountain, which is a popular hotspot for visiting tourists.
The Cradle Mountain Master Plan will see the visitor infrastructure in the area overhauled, and was prompted by criticisms from visiting tourists.
RELATED: Cradle Mountain $160m future plans
The Kentish Council recently approved the first of what will be a $160 million revamp.
Freycinet
One of Tasmania’s premier tourism destinations, Freycinet has seen an 18 per cent increase in visitation.
There have been issues with parking and traffic flow when the area becomes inundated with tourists in peak season.
In summer 2016-17 Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service recommended people visit before 10am and after 4pm to avoid congestion.
The state government recently announced a range of works to upgrade the facilities at Wineglass Bay.
RELATED: Freycinet walking track upgrade
Launceston and the Gorge
The Cataract Gorge draws 226,000 people annually, and Launceston is growing as a launching-point for the North and North East, and as a destination in its own right.
It was recently announced popular event MONA FOMA will be relocated to Launceston from the South, which is likely to be a boon for the area.
Chris Griffin would like to see the Gorge upgraded to include a night display using lights and lasers to spread the flow of traffic so not all visitors are using the area between 10am and 4pm.
Bay of Fires
The Bay of Fires in Tasmania’s north east is one of the fastest growing areas for tourism, with the whole East Coast booming.
Bay of Fires has seen a 25 per cent increase in tourism, and is a popular destination for guided walks.
Derby and the Blue Tier
This area has seen a boom following the construction of world-class mountain biking trails, which brought the international mountain biking event the Enduro World Series to Blue Derby in 2017.
To prepare for the mass influx of tourists to the once sleepy town mobile reception was upgraded.
There has been mixed responses from locals to the boom in Derby.
Tamar Valley
With the rise of food and wine tourism, the Tamar Valley is well placed to service this market.
It already boasts wine routes and many vineyards are working hard to carve out a piece of the food and wine tourism market.
Most of these tourists will be on the roads, which Chris Griffin said may be difficult for interstate and international visitors to adjust to.