Ms BADGER – Minister, how much of the Tourism Tasmania marketing budget was spent on influencers?
Ms HOWLETT – That’s a really good question and I don’t have those exact figures. I’m sure Sarah would like to speak about the influencers and the great impact they have to on our visitor economy. Thank you, Sarah.
Ms BADGER – If it’s possible to have a breakdown – not necessarily now – but happy to take it on notice, in terms of what segments money for influencers was directed to. For example, social media, podcasts, lifestyle, that sort of thing.
CHAIR – We will confirm with the minister whether she’s happy to take that last bit on notice.
Ms CLARK – We spend a very small amount – it would be less than 1 per cent of our budget – on influencers. We’ve definitely seen over the last couple of years the increase in influencer marketing and it’s now being treated as a channel as such. I think consumers are used to seeing the influencer message and they’re still connecting to that. Our target audience is around positive-impact travellers. We choose our influencer audience that we work with that aligns with our key customer base and you can see that information online around our key customer segments, but we spend very little on actual paid influencer activity.
Ms HOWLETT – Chair, can I add something to a further question?
CHAIR – Yes.
Ms HOWLETT – Mr Mitchell, I was absolutely correct in what I stated earlier. Since the program resumed, more than 19,000 voucher claims have been paid, with recipients spending more than $5.7 million on top of their vouchers claimed. The figure that I read out earlier is lodged. They have been lodged, but they are not yet to be claimed.
Mr MITCHELL – Thank you, minister.
Ms BADGER – Just back to where we were, and to clarify on that question. Is the breakdown available online of how much funding goes to which one of those influencer segments, or can I take that on notice, just to confirm?
Ms CLARK – Yes, we’re happy to provide that as long as the minister is happy with that.
Ms HOWLETT – I’m very happy to do that.
Ms BADGER – Excellent, thank you. My second question is, minister, Forestry Tasmania has about $8 million in an annual line budget – I will confess that I haven’t checked the interim budget to see how much is in that continuing on – but that’s specifically for them to spend money on tourism and enabling community access to different places. That is, the land tenure is under their ownership, so, that’s signage safe as far as possible, equitable access to these areas, but the Tasmanian community hasn’t seen a lot of new spaces that have been opened up or shared. There hasn’t been a lot of new signage put up in a lot of areas for a long time. There are roads particularly around the Styx Tall Trees area, which I’m sure you would appreciate as a a growing area for tourism, particularly as we’re seeing more people head to Mount Field.
What’s your input to that as Tourism minister? What’s your commitment to have input to make sure that that funding is being invested into key areas that align with Tourism Tasmania’s values?
Ms HOWLETT – I thank the honourable member for her question. There are a number of iconic tourism venues, including the the Tahune Airwalk, Hollybank and Derby Mountain bike trails which are located on or adjacent to forestry land. In fact, for Tasmania to thrive, all industries need to work in harmony for the benefit of our community’s economy and our environment. The Tasmanian government continues to support a balanced approach towards a management of our public forest and tourism.
Opportunities to visit the state’s big trees are provided on the Discover Tasmania website as promoting commercial tourism experiences like the Tahune Airwalk, Giant Tree Expeditions and Hollybank Wilderness Adventures alongside protected areas like the Tarkine and the Tall Tree Walk at Mountfield National Park, Evercreech Forest Reserve, Styx Tall Trees Conservation Areas and Lily and Dip Falls. To cater for these visitors and manage sustainable visitation, Tourism Tasmania works closely with Parks and Wildlife Services and regional tourism organisations to promote safe and accessible wilderness experiences for travellers, including short national walks in our parks.
Sarah, I’m not sure if you’ve had any discussions, but it really is a question for minister Ellis as far as signage is concerned. I note that we have regular meetings on what we can and what we can’t improve and I’m happy to take feedback.
