Welcome from the CEO

Hopefully, you are reading this when Tasmania’s borders have re-opened to low-risk jurisdictions across the country, meaning we are slowly starting to welcome interstate visitors back into the State.

(I say ‘hopefully’ as I am writing this a few days before October 26, and one thing I have learnt over the past 6-months is to not expect anything to happen until it happens!) But if it is the case our borders are open let us believe the worst of COVID is now behind us, and our work to rebuild Tasmania’s visitor economy has begun. What happens now is really anyone’s best guess. Yes, we have sound visitor projections to rely on, and all the modelling suggests we have every reason to look forward to a strong tourism bounce back in Tasmania relative to other parts of the country. What I do not think any of us can be completely sure on is the timing of how quickly that recovery happens. How bad is the national economy going to get over the next 12 months and what is this going to do to consumer confidence and discretionary spending on holidays? How strong a summer can we expect when our largest market, Victoria, is coming out of 6-months of COVID-trauma? What is next year’s winter going to look like? How will our major events program work next year? What happens when Job Keeper ends? Everyone in the tourism industry would have lay awake at some point turning their mind in knots trying to work out the answers to these questions and others, trying to work out what this might all mean to their business or job. I know I have. As I heard someone say recently, if these are such ‘unprecedented times’, when exactly did we have ‘precedented times?’ In other words, there is no going back now, only forward. Our challenge as an industry and as individuals working in Tasmanian tourism is to navigate these uncertain times with clarity and a shared sense of purpose, but with the flexibility to respond to the different opportunities and challenges as they emerge. This edition of ‘TICT Quarterly’ explores our response to these ‘unprecedented times’. We speak to tourism operators who have successfully - (and, yes, be prepared, I am going to use that other horrible term of 2020) - ‘pivoted’ - their business over the past few

As I heard someone say recently, if these are such ‘unprecedented times’, when exactly did we have ‘precedented times?’ In other words, there is no going back now, only forward.

months. What has worked for them and what is the legacy of COVID on their business? We have also asked two of our industry’s best and brightest, Sam Denmead and Jake Smith, to name up the ten key things every tourism operator should be doing right now to prepare for 2021. We explore the opportunities to position Tasmania right now as a global leader in climate conscious tourism, and profile the Australian Tourism Award winning, Daniel and Simone Hackett. Thank you to Rachel Williams from Millwood Media, and our designer, Adele Close, for helping to bring this edition of TICT Quarterly together quickly. This is the third edition of TICT Quarterly. We think we are on the right track – but if you have suggestions or ideas for content to make it more relevant to you, please let me know.

Luke Martin Chief Executive Officer Tourism Industry Council Tasmania