Tasmania plans post-bushfire tourism marketing campaign

Tourism Tasmania and industry leaders in the island state are to emphasise that Tasmania is still open for business after the recent ferocious bushfires.

While the fires affected towns on the Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas, Tasmania's tourism leaders are formulating a post-bushfire marketing campaign to let people know Tasmania is still open for business.

Advising that a recent meeting had made progress in determining how best to market the state and encourage people to support areas affected by the fires, Tasmania's Tourism Minister Scott Bacon explained "this is an important time for the state's tourism industry, and it's essential visitors are aware they can still come to our state and enjoy our wilderness, our heritage, our fine food and wine and our arts and cultural experiences.

"Yesterday, representatives of Tourism Tasmania met with members of the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania, Regional Tourism Organisations, the visitor information network, the Parks and Wildlife Service and management of Port Arthur to discuss plans for the post-bushfire marketing program.

"One of the clear messages from this meeting was that many members of the tourism industry remain confident about their future, despite the fires."

Minister Bacon said the campaign team would involve members of Tourism Tasmania, the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania (TICT), Regional Tourism Organisations and visitor information centres.

He added "this team will be working to get these proposals underway as quickly as possible.

"Ultimately, we want to see a range of local and interstate campaigns that attract visitors to our state, get them to support businesses in those areas affected by the fires, and ensure the industry can continue to have confidence in their future.

"This will be on top of Tourism Tasmania's ongoing marketing, and will involve direct marketing, localised events and activities identified by the Regional Tourism Organisations, and a high profile local media campaign involving television, print and radio."