The Tasmanian Government has backed a stronger visitor economy with an extra $18 million investment in Tourism Tasmania over the next four years and a pipeline of new and upgraded visitor infrastructure in the State’s 2016/17 budget said the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF).

TTF’s pre-budget submission called for the Tasmanian Government to continue to grow its investment in destination marketing, support the attraction of business events, invest in new and upgraded tourism infrastructure and improve visitor access to the State.

“The Tasmanian Government has recognised the value of the state’s booming visitor economy by backing the sector with more investment over the coming years,” said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO.

“TTF has been a vocal advocate of greater investment in destination marketing and it is pleasing to see the Tasmanian Government has embraced this message by making this smart investment in the future of the sector by boosting the budget of Tourism Tasmania by $18 million over the next four years.

“Tasmania has already started to see the dividends of investing in its visitor economy. International visitor numbers are up by 20 per cent and expenditure has increased by 34 per cent, the strongest growth rate in Australia.

“Tasmania has a fantastic tourism story to tell the world and by investing in the sector more potential visitors are heading that story and making their way to this magnificent island.

Ms Osmond said the investments in visitor infrastructure such as the Great Eastern Drive, parks infrastructure, aviation market development and Business Events Tasmania would make Tasmania an even more attractive destination for visitors.

“The Tasmanian Government has rightly recognised that a growing tourism sector needs the visitor infrastructure in place to support it and ensure that visitors have a positive experience.

“The $70 million commitment for arts and cultural infrastructure including the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery are exactly the type of visitor attractions to encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more.

“The investment in public transport with an order of 100 new buses for Metro Tasmania fleet is also good news for the State.”