Tasmania engulfed by tourism boom

By Christian Mahne
In Tasmania

New ferry services bring more than half a million visitors a year

Tasmania - Australia's self-styled holiday isle - is facing an unexpected economic challenge.

Tourist numbers have soared almost overnight thanks to new ferry services, lifting visitor spending by 30% last year alone.

But despite the promise of riches for those who rise to the challenge, sectors of the holiday industry have been caught napping.

To help local businesses catch up, Tasmania's Chamber of Commerce is offering a "Business Check," a crash course in service sector excellence.

Helen Kotcharian, proprietor of a hairdressing salon at the Hobart Casino, is one local entrepreneur who's signed up.

Come again

Alan Firth from the Chamber of Commerce takes her through a checklist of essential steps for success in the modern tourism industry.

"So, we go through these questions.. The first one is - To what extent is every customer treated with a view to establishing repeat business?

"This is the concept of the lifetime value of a customer," he explains.

The island is popular with rock climbers

Aside from giving local firms a helping hand, the programme also aims to ensure that millions of dollars spent marketing Tasmania aren't squandered through poor service standards as soon as the visitors arrive.

Ms Kotcharian is in no doubt that it was a useful exercise.

"Well, I got a reality check," she told the BBC's World Business Report.

"I think everyone in business should take a look from the perspective of somebody coming in from the outside. It was good solid criticism, I liked it!"

Overloaded

An hour down the coast from Hobart is Peppermint Bay - a brand new A$4.5m (US$3.2m ; £1.8m) watering hole built specifically to catch tourists making their way up and down Tasmania's east coast.

Tasmania has been caught a little bit by surprise Damon Thomas, Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce

It's a sign of how the tourist boom is changing the hitherto sedate island.

Tasmania's problem is that you can have too much of a good thing.

Visitor numbers are rising by 20% a year, putting a strain on infrastructure, and turning tourism from a seasonal to a year-round occupation.

It's all thanks to the now three Spirit of Tasmania ferries plying the route between Tassie - as the island is affectionately known - and the mainland.

Between them they're expected to bring 570,000 passengers this year - considerably more than the entire permanent population of the state.

And they're not just coming during the traditional holiday period any more.

Tasmania's pubs and tourist businesses are expected to be open all year round now.

High expectations

That's an idea that takes some adjusting to, according to Damon Thomas from the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce.

"In terms of our infrastructure, Tasmania has been caught a little bit by surprise by the extreme interest in the state," he says.

Tasmania's natural beauty is its biggest attraction

"Having said that, there's been a major effort to encourage people to meet that demand, so a lot of businesses from caravan parks to the major hotels and tourist chains are off their backsides, and are working on progress."

And when the infrastructure's not ready, you get problems.

Hobart's showground has now become Hobart's overspill caravan park. Bottlenecks in accommodation and transport are something the fickle holiday industry can't tolerate.

If service standards fall, the visitors thronging Hobart's streets won't be back and, worse, they'll tell their friends.

Getting prepared now to cope with the influx has become a high speed, high stakes challenge.