ECO-TOURISM should be taken more seriously if it is to be used as the government's latest buzzword.
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A lot of money is being spent on Tasmania's environmental tourism, although its existing drawcards don't seem to be attractive enough for ongoing attention.
Premier Will Hodgman last weekend said Tasmania's natural assets were a key part of reaching a 1.5 million visitor goal by 2020.
Despite that, evidence of maintaining infrastructure at many of the state's existing natural assets remains all but hidden.
That is particularly the case for seemingly disregarded North, North-East and Eastern bushwalking trails.
How lucky constituents of Franklin must feel to have back- to-back premiers willing to fight for their own eco-tourism market.
On Saturday, Mr Hodgman hailed a mid-August completion date for the $500,000 replacement of Cockle Creek Bridge in the South.
According to Mr Hodgman, the date will allow the bridge to be in full operation for the state's tourist season, despite never being officially closed.
The bridge, an access route to Southwest National Park and World Heritage Area, was slated for closure by Parks and Wildlife less than eight months ago.
The announcement triggered an instant social media campaign in protesting the decision, even though the bridge - about one- kilometre from tourist destinations - would remain open to foot traffic.
It took less than a week for then- premier Lara Giddings to respond with a replacement promise of $600,000, short-circuiting a proposed rally at the Franklin site.
The current government kept Cockle Creek Bridge open with a 12-tonne vehicle limit, manned by third party traffic control officers at taxpayer expense.
Meanwhile, walkways at Mount Barrow's Discovery Trail remain unfinished since an associated work for the dole program ceased in 2008.
Popular bushwalking sites at Meander Falls have been rendered impractical since early 2011, when two-vehicle access routes were washed away by floods.
Loss of the bridges added hours to the already extensive falls walk and left a group of 12 bushwalkers stranded for 18 hours when floods hit again in July last year.
Although a $500,000 pledge from the Liberal government was made in February to replace the bridges, it took more than three years for the issue to be acknowledged with funding.
It was a poor show from the former state government, which allowed the routes to remain unaddressed during an asset transferral from Forestry Tasmania.
Many former forestry trails now fall under state government control and, according to a Liberal government spokesman, will be prioritised for "expenditure in the context of the August budget".
It's likely Meander Valley will have one of its most prized tourist destinations out of action for a fourth tourist season.
Circumstances are similar for Fingal Valley's Hardings and Meadstone falls.
While it may be fortunate for the East Coast's protected swift parrot that only four kilometres separate the falls, it is not so fortunate for would-be visitors to the sites.
An unusable forestry link trail now means travellers must endure a 100-kilometre journey if they wish to see both falls on the same trip.
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne was on a warpath when she jumped on the Cockle Creek Bridge closure in November last year, although her words were far from trailblazing.
Senator Milne attacked a lack of government spending and wrote: "When are governments going to realise they need to invest in infrastructure to enable appropriate access and maintain our world-famous natural assets?"
She's right, more spending is a must to increase visitation to the sites.
However, Senator Milne's push to disband Forestry Tasmania now seems sadly ironic, as the logging branch was to thank for maintaining access to so many of the cited world-famous attractions.
If the state governments is serious about publicising eco- tourism and achieving Tasmania's 2020 visitor goal, it must become pro-active in maintaining what we already have.