Tamar Valley produce a highlight of Tasmanian tourism: TICT

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said it was a great chance to highlight the wonders of the Tamar Valley.

"Clearly one of the great business opportunities, and great market opportunities in the North, is around its food bowl, our credential, and about people wanting to get out and experience the real Tasmania," he said.

"We need to be smart about growing our industry. We shouldn't just focus on numbers, we need to make sure visitors are experiencing all of the amazing parts of our state, such as the Tamar Valley."

Mr Martin said Experiential Tasmania is at the forefront of this.

"They're marrying Tasmania's tourism industry with our booming agricultural sector to showcase the state in really innovative ways," he said.

"This is only their second summer season in Tasmania and already they have carved out a niche for themselves."

Experiential Tasmania owner Sara Barnes said for about 18 months they had taken tourists to see what really made Tasmania special.

"My partner James and I have worked in Central Australia, Arnhem Land and Melbourne, but nothing compares to Tasmania and I always knew I'd boomerang back when the time was right. We took the plunge and started a business because there's so many great opportunities here," she said.

"They're mostly private tours for people who would like to go a little deeper than the average tour, go behind the scenes to meet the makers and have a really unique experience in some of the off the beaten track places."

She said in the Tamar Valley the focus was on the food and produce, with their popular Taste The Tamar tour visiting Tamar Valley Truffles, Swinging Gate Vineyard, and Waterton Hall.

"Since we started the Taste of the Tamar tour bookings have grown steadily. Visitors are really craving these sorts of experiences that combine our agricultural produce with visitor experiences and it's something that the Tamar Valley should develop as a strength," Ms Barnes said.

Tamar Valley Truffles' Marcus Jessup said the farm had been running for about 20 years.

"The Tamar Valley has been one of Tasmania's best kept secrets, but Experiential Tasmania is helping to change that. This is one of the best farming areas in the country," he said.

"Our produce is some of the best in the world, and it's great to be able to share that with people. By collaborating with the tourism industry we can help grow our business and make sure the benefits stay right here in the community."

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"We have tourists coming [as a] weekly thing during the summer time - it's not as busy as the winter. Everyone wants to come and dig a truffle up and see how it all works."

Mr Jessup said the food and produce industry in the valley was what made it so special.

"We've got a lot of different foods here now, we've got all the vineyards, cherry farms popping up and all this sort of thing, so people are very interested to see where the food comes [from]," he said.

The Tamar Valley Folk Festival drew crowds into the valley at the weekend for three days of music, song, and dance.

"It's been a great festival, the town's full of people," organiser Chris Atwell said.

Mr Martin said the tourism industry and state government had a shared vision of growing collaboration between the agriculture and tourism sectors.

"If we can encourage more collaborations like this in the Tamar, there's no reason why it can't become a destination that is famous as the Margaret River in Western Australia, the Hunter Valley in New South Wales or the Adelaide Hills in South Australia," he said.