ECTT Industry Recognition Award: Transformation & Innovation
ECTT International Women's Day Lunch 2026
Kate's Berry Farm East Coast Legacy
Farewell and Thank You, The Branch
Forbes 26 Places to Visit in 2026
Wineglass Bay Estate featured in Financial Review
Women In Leadership
Short Stay Levy
Off Season Offers
What's On - Events
Business Grants available
ECTT Industry Recognition Award
Transformation & Innovation
Congratulations ECHO Festival!
The East Coast Tasmania Tourism Industry Recognition Awards celebrate the people, businesses and events that are helping shape a strong, resilient and forward-thinking tourism industry on the East Coast. The Innovation and Transformation Award recognises those who are doing things differently, introducing new ideas, responding creatively to challenges, and making a meaningful impact on their business, community and place.
This year’s Innovation and Transformation Award recognises ECHO Festival, a shining example of creativity, adaptability and community impact. Founded by Ange Boxall, ECHO has reimagined what a regional festival can be, blending culture, creativity, food, and storytelling to create experiences that are deeply rooted in the East Coast community while attracting visitors from across Tasmania and beyond.
The festival’s innovative approach goes beyond traditional event programming. ECHO transforms local spaces into immersive artistic and cultural environments, showcasing local talent, connecting communities, and highlighting the region’s unique landscapes and stories. Its adaptive planning, responsiveness to challenges, and forward-thinking partnerships have delivered meaningful economic, cultural, and social benefits to the East Coast, raising the bar for tourism and events in regional Tasmania.
By continuously pushing boundaries and embracing new ideas, ECHO Festival has become more than just an event; it is a movement that celebrates place, people, and creativity, and a model for how regional experiences can innovate, transform, and inspire.
Celebrate International Women’s Day 2026 with us on Wednesday, 4 March, from 12:00–2:00pm at Milton Vineyard’s A Tale Among the Vines Restaurant.
Guided by the global theme “Give to Gain”, this event brings together inspiring East Coast women and ECTT Industry Recognition Award winners to share knowledge, lived experience and insights from their journeys in the tourism industry, highlighting how giving back to the community creates collective benefits for businesses, visitors and the region.
Guests will enjoy a special locally inspired lunch by A Tale Among the Vines, with sincere thanks to both them and Milton Vineyard for hosting.
Proudly sponsored by the Hospitality Tasmania Women in Leadership program, this support allows us to offer discounted tickets and make the event more accessible; if you have accessibility requirements or need financial support to attend, please contact Sally at sally@eastcoasttasmania.com.au.
We extend our deepest thanks and warmest congratulations to Kate Bradley for 37 extraordinary years as the founder, owner and driving force behind Kate’s Berry Farm, one of Tasmania’s most beloved tourism and food experiences. Since purchasing an undeveloped coastal block south of Swansea in 1988, Kate’s vision, courage and unwavering work ethic transformed a vacant paddock into an iconic East Coast destination that has welcomed generations of visitors from across Australia and around the world.
Starting with little more than determination and a passion for growing cool-climate berries, Kate built the business by hand in its early years, including constructing buildings and operating without electricity, slowly growing a small roadside stall into a thriving paddock-to-plate enterprise. Over time, Kate’s Berry Farm became renowned for its strawberries, raspberries, loganberries and blackcurrants, alongside handcrafted jams, sauces, chocolates, ice creams and desserts that drew people back year after year. The much-loved Just Desserts Café, with its panoramic views across Great Oyster Bay to the Freycinet Peninsula, became a signature East Coast experience.
Beyond its produce, Kate’s Berry Farm stands as a powerful example of resilience, innovation and independent tourism entrepreneurship. The farm gained international recognition, featured in global media and promotional campaigns, and played a meaningful role in establishing the East Coast of Tasmania as a destination known for authentic food experiences, a sense of place and genuine hospitality. For many locals and visitors alike, a stop at Kate’s Berry Farm became a tradition , woven into the fabric of travelling the region.
As Kate steps into a well-earned retirement after nearly four decades of hands-on ownership, we sincerely thank her for the passion, generosity and leadership she brought to the East Coast tourism community. We congratulate her on an incredible legacy and wish her every happiness and fulfilment in the next chapter ahead. Kate’s Berry Farm continues under new management, and we look forward to seeing how this much-loved East Coast institution evolves while honouring the foundations Kate created.
Farewell and Thankyou to The Branch
We want to congratulate Kelsey Walker and thank her for her incredible contribution to the East Coast tourism community through The Branch.
Over the years, Kelsey created a vibrant hub in Swansea, welcoming locals and visitors with live music, delicious food, specialty drinks, and a warm, inclusive atmosphere. The Branch officially closed its doors last weekend, leaving behind a lasting legacy in the community.
We wish Kelsey all the best in the next chapter and sincerely thank her for the energy, creativity, and heart she brought to the East Coast.
Nestled on 52 acres of pristine landscape overlooking the Ramsar-listed Moulting Lagoon, this boutique luxury retreat will offer eight architecturally refined waterfront retreats with uninterrupted views, premium interiors, and private decks perfect for long sunsets and local wine. Beyond its stunning setting, the Estate will include a cool-climate vineyard and cellar door, celebrating Tasmania’s wine culture with spectacular nature as its backdrop. This will be a truly special addition to the East Coast visitor experience.
Forbes Lists East Coast Operators in
The 26 Best Places to Travel in 2026
Photo Credit: Picnic Island
We’re thrilled to see Tasmania named in Forbes’ prestigious “The 26 Best Places to Travel in 2026” list, the only Australian destination included, selected by global travel experts for places shaping the future of travel. This recognition puts an international spotlight on what makes our island, and particularly the East Coast, so special.
A huge congratulations to Picnic Island, now officially open and recognised as a truly unique private-island experience, offering intimate, off-grid stays surrounded by wildlife and raw coastal beauty. We also celebrate Saffire Freycinet, acknowledged for its world-class luxury, exceptional service and breathtaking setting overlooking Great Oyster Bay.
This global recognition reinforces the East Coast of Tasmania as a standout destination on the world stage.
Own Your Voice Workshop - Hospitality Tasmania
Ready to strengthen your voice, build confidence and communicate with clarity?
Join Hospitality Tasmania’s Women in Leadership workshop Own Your Voice, Shape Your Story, a powerful morning of practical insights and interactive learning with highly respected facilitator Barb McGregor, who brings over 25 years of experience helping leaders and organisations find purpose, confidence and influence.
The event runs across multiple locations (Launceston, Latrobe and Hobart) in March and April 2026.
The Tasmanian Government is seeking feedback on proposed legislation that would introduce a 5% levy on short-stay accommodation across Tasmania. Stakeholders and community members are encouraged to share their views by making a submission.
Submissions close at 5.00 pm on Wednesday, 25 February 2026.
Create Your Off Season 2026 Offer
East Coast tourism operators have already submitted more than 30 Off Season offers, contributing to over 200 offers submitted statewide. This strong early response puts us in a great position to deliver another successful winter campaign in 2026.
If you haven’t submitted an offer yet, there’s still time to take part.
Off Season 2026 offer submissions close on 6 March 2026.
Offers will begin going live on the Discover Tasmania website from 2 February, helping capture bookings ahead of winter, with the full campaign launching in March.
ECTT is here to support you through the process. For guidance on creating your offer, we recommend using the Create Your Offer toolkit, with further information and the submission link available via the Off Season website.
If you’d like help refining an idea or submitting your offer, please get in touch with Sally; sally@eastcoasttasmania.com.au
A big thank you to all East Coast operators who have already submitted an offer; your early engagement is helping ensure a strong East Coast presence in Off Season 2026.
What's on
There's so many great events, markets, live music, classes and activities to get involved with on the East Coast.
To see the whole schedule for this year and beyond
There are a number of industry grants and funding opportunities now available to help support your business visit the website
The Tasmanian tourism industry acknowledges the Tasmanian Aboriginal people and their enduring custodianship of lutruwita / Tasmania. We honour 40,000 years of uninterrupted care, protection and belonging to these islands, before the invasion and colonisation of European settlement. As a tourism industry that welcomes visitors to these lands, we acknowledge our responsibility to represent to our visitors Tasmania’s deep and complex history, fully, respectfully and truthfully. We acknowledge the Aboriginal people who continue to care for this country today. We pay our respects to their elders, past and present. We honour their stories, songs, art, and culture, and their aspirations for the future of their people and these lands. We respectfully ask that tourism be a part of that future.
East Coast Tasmania Tourism Inc, PO Box 115, Bicheno, Tasmania 7215, Australia
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