"Airbnb is well placed to play an important role in bringing tourists, and their spending, back to destination economies," Oxford Economics director of economic consulting in Asia James Lambert said.

"Airbnb could play an important role in supporting the earlier recovery of domestic travel by helping households, particularly those who seek to substitute an international trip with a domestic one, discover new areas in their own country to visit.

"Specifically, Airbnb can inspire domestic travel in areas outside tourist hotspot locations by offering unique listings and experiences across regional markets.

"In this new environment, Airbnb may be able to play an important role in providing accommodation solutions to under-supplied or otherwise dislocated markets."

Tourism tanked in recent months as the coronavirus pandemic led to restrictions on movement.

An Oxford Economics report commissioned by Airbnb found Airbnb guests spent more than $364 million in Tasmania in 2019, with nearly $250 million spent outside of Hobart in rural and regional Tasmania.

Oxford Economics found AirBNB contributed $280 million to gross state product in 2019 and supported 3200 jobs, many of them in rural and regional areas.

"While 2020 has been a year characterised by disruption, the 2019 Oxford Economics report data helps paint a long-term picture of the role short-term rental accommodation plays in job creation in Tasmania," Airbnb head of public policy for Australia Derek Nolan said.

He said Tasmanian hosts had been keen to do whatever they could to accommodate travel within Tasmania by Tasmanians "during this challenging time.

"Across every corner of the state, they're rolling up their sleeves and wanting to make a real contribution to the recovery of Tassie tourism," Mr Nolan said.

He said the state government's "nation-leading" legal framework for short-term rental accommodation gave Tasmanian hosts certainty and clarity and had contributed to the strong job numbers identified in the report.

Airbnb has not been universally accepted in Tasmania, with critics claiming it contributed to a shortage of rental properties, particularly in Hobart.

In May, Tasmanian Greens Leader Cassy O'Connor said SQM Research figures showed the number of vacant residential properties in Hobart nearly doubled from March to April, while rental listings grew by an "incredible" 41 per cent in March.

"This can be sheeted home to short-stay accommodation properties coming back into the market due to COVID-19 travel restrictions," Ms O'Connor said.

"This influx shows what policy-makers have known for some time; the housing crisis was significantly exacerbated by the failure to regulate short stay accommodation.

"Now is Tasmania's chance for a fresh start, to put in place meaningful regulations for short-stay accommodation."