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Record visitor growth in 2009

Monday, 18 January 2010 01:30

Tasmania’s visitor boom continues, with the State recording record visitor growth for the year ending September 2009, according to the latest Tasmanian Visitor Survey (TVS) results released today. The Minister for Tourism and the Arts, Michelle O’Byrne, said that the TVS reported an increase in total visitor numbers of 4 per cent on the previous year, with 917,100 scheduled air and sea visitors to Tasmania in the year to September 2009. When combined with the number of cruise ship and navy visitors, Tasmania has welcomed 1.024 million visitors during this period. “Growth in the September 2009 quarter alone was up 5 per cent on 2008 figures, with 148,100 visitors to our State during the months of July, August and September. “These excellent off-peak results are an encouraging sign for our 2010 Winter of Festivals, which will see Tasmania host an array of festivals and events that will give potential visitors every possible reason to travel here,” she said. Ms O’Byrne said the latest visitor results showed Tasmania was continuing to defy the national trend of a declining domestic travel environment. The September 2009 results of the National Visitor Survey (NVS), conducted by Tourism Research Australia, report a decline in domestic interstate overnight travel (-7%), visitor nights (-7%), and expenditure (-6%) compared to the previous year. “In contrast, visitors to Tasmania are staying longer and spending more, with the total number of visitor nights up 14 per cent to 8.31 million nights, the average length of stay up to 9.1 nights, and total expenditure up 4 per cent to $1.47 billion. “Tasmania also continues to grow its appeal as a holiday and leisure destination, with holiday visitors accounting for 48 per cent (438,200) of all visitors to the State, an increase of 6 percent on the previous year,” Ms O’Byrne said. “As we head into the busy holiday season, these latest results are a sign that Tasmania has maintained its appeal as a visitor destination despite the challenges of the volatile world economy. “Tourism Tasmania’s marketing efforts are clearly working. “What we must continue to do is support our tourism industry to grow its capacity to deliver the products and experiences our visitors demand. “This means both ensuring consumers can plan and book their Tasmanian holiday when and how they want to, and giving them an unforgettable Tasmanian experience that keeps them coming back. Ms O’Byrne said Tourism Tasmania’s major marketing activities for 2010 will focus on expanding the State’s exposure through traditional and digital media. “We’ll be harnessing the marketing potential of social networking channels; we’ll celebrate the winter season with a state-wide Winter of Festivals; and we’ll be undertaking a range of innovative promotional activities to encourage people to holiday in Tasmania,” she said. The TVS is a destination survey providing a detailed picture of visitors to Tasmania and is conducted through interviews and a self-completion questionnaire of targeted passengers as they depart Tasmanian ports. It has a sample size of around 9,000 interstate visitors per year and is seen as the most robust and reliable data source for interstate visitation to Tasmania.