DERBY DRIVES TASMANIA’S MOUNTAIN BIKE TOURISM BOOM

Blue Derby is delivering a powerful return on investment for Tasmania, with new economic data confirming its status as one of the state’s most important regional tourism assets and a major driver of jobs, visitation and spend.

The newly released report, The Value of Blue Derby to the Tasmanian Economy (August 2025), confirms that Blue Derby:

• generates $50.9 million in direct annual visitor expenditure along with $26.6 million direct and indirect contribution to the state economy in the form of Gross State Product – see Figure 2
• supports 274 full-time equivalent jobs across Tasmania – see Figure 1
• and attracts more than 45,000 mountain bike visitors each year - representing 52% of all mountain bike visitors to the state.

With this strong return now clearly demonstrated, Dorset Council is calling on the Tasmanian State Government to partner in funding a Derby Masterplan and to provide ongoing support for the maintenance of the state’s mountain bike trail network, recognising its proven contribution to the Tasmanian economy.

WHY THE REPORT WAS COMMISSIONED

Since the Blue Derby trails were launched in 2015, there had been no quantifiable economic data to measure value for money or return on investment. This information is critical for Council to advocate to both the State and Federal Governments for long-term funding for trail maintenance and to ensure that Blue Derby and Tasmania’s wider mountain bike network are recognised as significant state assets and economic drivers.

It is also essential to position Derby as ‘Future Ready’ - poised to build on its success, give confidence to the private sector to invest, and continue growing its tourism and service offering.

A CALL FOR STATE PARTNERSHIP

“It has always been clear that Blue Derby delivers powerful social, health and environmental benefits, but now we have hard economic data that shows just how significant this destination is to Tasmania’s visitor economy,” Mayor Rhys Beattie said.

“Blue Derby received $3.25 million in Federal and State funding for the original build of the Blue Derby trails. Considering the annual direct spend by mountain bike visitors to derby generates $50.9 million annually, this has been an extremely attractive return on investment for Federal and State Government, along with Dorset Council. That kind of return on investment demands a new long-term partnership with the State Government.

“We are now calling on the State Government to co-invest in a Derby Masterplan and to assist with sustainable funding for maintenance of Tasmania’s mountain bike trail networks to recognise these trails as essential state infrastructure - not just local assets.”