Improving Tassie tourism picture brings in luxury hotel chain

Tasmania’s growing appeal as a top tourism destination is bearing investment fruits, with the US hotel chain Hyatt to open its first hotel in Hobart in 2019.

Hobart was the top-performing hotel market in 2016, recording revenue per available room (revPAR) growth of 12.2 per cent last year, according to analysts STR.

The Apple Isle as a whole has enjoyed a strong resurgence, with tourism spending rising 9 per cent to over $2 billion in FY16 and a record 224,000 overseas visitors heading there to enjoy its food, wine and natural attractions over this period

The development of the  $40 million Hyatt Centric hotel with 221 rooms at 28-32 Elizabeth Street is being undertaken by Singapore company Elizabeth Tasmania, with Hyatt to operate it under a management agreement.

“This [hotel] will open up new and valuable national and international marketing opportunities for Tasmania, cater for a new and expanding visitor segment and help to grow the state’s tourism sector,” said Elizabeth Tasmania’s chief operating officer Kim Boey Tan.

Construction of the new hotel will kick off in mid-2017. David Udell, group president – Asia Pacific at Hyatt, said the new hotel would provide guests with a launch pad to explore the best Hobart had to offer.

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