Ms BADGER – Our tourism industry has a collective goal to be net zero in the coming years, which is a fantastic ambition to have. At the moment, we’ve got other goals that are not necessarily complementary to this, such as looking at the increase in caravanning tourism; we’re still lacking EV charging infrastructure in regional areas; the number of cruise ships we currently have coming in: none of these are necessarily on the path to getting to the climate goals that the tourism sector wants.
When are we going to see a set plan that actually shows, goal by goal, how the tourism industry is going to achieve the carbon footprint it’s aiming for?
Ms HOWLETT – I thank you for your question. I will pass you to Sarah, the CEO, in a moment. One thing I do want to put on record is that for every dollar spent in tourism, a further 83 cents is generated to our visitor economy. In the year ending June 2025, visitors spent $3 billion directly into Tasmania’s economy. That is up more than $1 billion from the same time in 2019. That’s something we should be celebrating.
The government recognises the important role tourism has in all regions of our state. That’s why we continue our commitment to work with industry through the T21 partnerships in delivering Tasmania’s 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy. Sarah, I know you would like to speak to that.
Ms CLARK – Thank you for the question. It’s a really important one. As outlined in the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy, key direction 1 is to reduce emissions and improve environmental sustainability practices. In the publicly available report, which shows the things that we have done in the past two years, it does state that we have a program which has been delivered. We’ve funded the Tourism Industry Council to look at reducing emissions. We’ve had 101 businesses enrolled in that program to date and 44 tonnes of emissions offset so far. So, that’s one of the important pieces.
We’ve also, in partnership, with Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT), delivered 12 workshops to industries to promote electric vehicle tourism, and there has been an increase in electric vehicle chargers around the state. So, it’s most definitely a focus as well for us.
There’s definitely a number of initiatives outlined both in the 2030 Visitor Economy Strategy for future and also shows some of the things that we have delivered so far.
Ms BADGER – Thank you. I have read the publicly available documents. I guess we’re after a bit more detail of how and where the emission reductions so far have come from and the trajectory of how they’re going to continue coming down, be it on the same course or other initiatives that you’re going to have. Is that data that’s backing the high-level statistics in the report that you’re talking about available? Are we able to take those on notice and get them tabled?
Ms CLARK – Yes, we can definitely provide the information around the emissions reduction program in more detail. We’re also going through a process at the moment, as we go into the third year of the Visitor Economy Strategy, to reset the next three years as well so that we can look at those really important targets to focus on.
Ms HOWLETT – The TICT has also received funding. They’ve received $1.56 million funding over three years through State Growth to deliver a greenhouse gas emission reduction program for businesses to help Tasmania become a leading destination for climate‑conscious travellers and identify critical challenges for industry in delivering on strategy objectives, with a focus on the increasing cost of insurance and research. Possible statewide solutions as well. And to maintain and grow the Tourism Ambassador program. Also, to engage young and emerging tourism professionals to create awareness of career opportunities in tourism and ensure standards of tourism industry development and strategic planning continue to meet industry demands.
CHAIR – I remind members to please direct all questions to or through the minister.
