Central Coast Council commissioned episteme to assess demand for tourism accommodation and conference facilities in Penguin and Ulverstone, on Tasmania’s North West coast. The aim was to give the council a baseline of evidence for tourism planning and investment attraction. The analysis by Dr Allison Anderson and Macarena Vela drew on visitor survey data, accommodation listings, online travel agencies and short-stay data. It compared the two towns with the Central Coast as a whole and with the wider North West.
Visitation is growing, and the arrival of the new, larger Spirit of Tasmania ferries will bring more of the region’s core market: older Australian couples on road trips in their own cars. But Penguin and Ulverstone aren’t yet seen as overnight destinations. More than half the accommodation capacity is caravan and camping, while most visitors are looking for a room.
The key finding is that more accommodation alone won’t grow visitation. The Central Coast needs to define what makes it distinctive within the North West experience, so it earns a place on road trippers’ itineraries. Agritourism is a promising opportunity the region could own. Business events should start small, with dedicated resources.