Huge visitor numbers threaten niche appeal, warns Tourism Tasmania chief

Tasmania’s tourism chief says the island has no intention of being a mass-tourism destination.

Tourism Tasmania chief John Fitzgerald, left, with Virgin Australia's Russell Shaw, and Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman announcing direct flights between Hobart and Perth recently. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

TASMANIA is not a mass tourism destination and has no intention of becoming one, says the man charged with overall responsibility for the state’s tourism marketing.

Tourism Tasmania chief executive officer John Fitzgerald says the island is not suited to mass tourism.

“It never has been, nor will it ever be,” Mr Fitzgerald writes in today’s Mercury.

Mr Fitzgerald says the perception that Tasmania may be suffering from “over-tourism” is not due to huge visitor numbers but because too many travellers are descending on popular attractions at the same time.

“We recognise this can affect the quality of the experience not only for visitors, but also for locals,” he says.

TALKING POINT: SMART MARKETING TARGETS TRAVELLERS

Mr Fitzgerald says government and industry are working on a plan to manage such “hot spots”.

The impact of Tasmania’s growing tourism numbers has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, with Hobart Lord Mayor Ron Christie raising questions about mass tourism and population growth

Ald Christie said he was concerned mass tourism could “kill our city” because of traffic congestion, Airbnb and soaring house prices.

Mr Fitzgerald says Tourism Tasmania’s aim was to attract a select holiday-maker — one who values Tasmania’s unique assets and is more inclined to spend more and stay longer.

He says the latest visitor snapshot shows that tourism growth is now only “modest”, yet they are spending more.

The most recent data from Tourism Tasmania shows visitor growth for the year to March was only 2 per cent. The period saw 1.28 million visitors come to the state, compared with 1.27 million the year before.

Despite the modest growth in numbers, visitor expenditure rose by 7 per cent, rising to $2.37 billion.

EDITORIAL: TALK OPENLY ABOUT TOURISM

Tourism developer Simon Currant supports the need to protect Tasmania’s brand as a niche destination. “We need to promote tourists who value our brand and don’t damage it,” Mr Currant said.

He questioned the type of tourism generated by some ­elements of the tourism sector, such as cruise ships and high-rise hotels.

“It’s so damaging to our brand to encourage massive influxes, such as up to 10,000 passengers a day from cruise ships,” he said.

In the most recent cruise ship season, which ended at the end of March, Hobart hosted 59 ships carrying 126,000 passengers and 51,000 crew — a 23 per cent jump on the previous year.

Tourism Industry Council chief executive officer Luke Martin said the effect of the cruise-ship sector was a topic worthy of debate, but the crowds did play a role in helping city tourism operators.

Mr Martin said the main challenge moving forward was how to spread tourist numbers from Hobart and Launceston into the regions.