Barwon South West Vic vs Tasmania: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Tasmania edges ahead of Barwon South West Vic on higher occupancy (42% vs 30%), stronger RevPAR (£27 vs £20).

Head-to-head metrics

	Barwon South West Vic	Tasmania
Median occupancy	30%	42%
Median daily rate	£140	£99
Median RevPAR	£20	£27
Active listings	5,348	5,396
YoY occupancy	+13.6 pts	+14.1 pts
YoY daily rate	-4.2%	-1%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Barwon South West Vic vs Tasmania

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Tasmania finishes decisively ahead of Barwon South West Vic. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 35.1% higher in Tasmania: £27 against £20. Tasmania sells 12 more points of its calendar — 42% median occupancy against 30% in Barwon South West Vic. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Barwon South West Vic is the rate market: £140 a night against £99, some 40.5% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 30% occupancy. Tasmania is the volume market, filling 42% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £27 in Tasmania against £20. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Barwon South West Vic is not simply the weaker market of the two. Barwon South West Vic commands 40.5% more per night, £140 against £99. Its strongest submarket, Corangamite, clears £28 RevPAR on its own — city medians hide that kind of spread. If your model leans on nightly rate rather than volume, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Barwon South West Vic nor Tasmania currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Barwon South West Vic peaks in September at 62.4% and bottoms in November at 38%; Tasmania runs from 52.2% in September down to 35.2% in February. Tasmania is the steadier of the two at 17 points peak-to-trough against 24.4 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Barwon South West Vic concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Barwon South West Vic suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. Tasmania answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2025-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 3,802 active Barwon South West Vic listings and 2,774 in Tasmania.

Frequently asked questions

Is Barwon South West Vic or Tasmania better for Airbnb investment?

Tasmania, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£27 vs £20), higher occupancy (42% vs 30%), and higher median annual revenue (£9,830 vs £7,283). Barwon South West Vic is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a higher nightly rate (£140 vs £99).

Which has higher occupancy, Barwon South West Vic or Tasmania?

Tasmania, at 42% median occupancy against 30% in Barwon South West Vic — a gap of 12 points. That is a wide spread by short-term rental standards and usually reflects a structural demand difference rather than better hosting. Over the last twelve months Barwon South West Vic gained 13.6 points and Tasmania gained 14.1 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Barwon South West Vic or Tasmania?

Barwon South West Vic, at £140 a night against £99 in Tasmania — roughly 40.5% more. The nightly rate is not the whole story, though. On revenue per available night — rate multiplied by how often the room actually sells — Tasmania comes out ahead at £27 against £20, so Tasmania's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Barwon South West Vic or Tasmania?

Tasmania, on occupancy: +14.1 points over the last twelve months against +13.6 points in Barwon South West Vic. Nightly rates fell 4.2% in Barwon South West Vic and fell 1% in Tasmania over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Barwon South West Vic or Tasmania?

Tasmania, with 5,396 active listings against 5,348 in Barwon South West Vic. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Barwon South West Vic vs Tasmania?

Tasmania earns more: roughly £9,830 a year for a median listing against £7,283 in Barwon South West Vic. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Barwon South West Vic →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Tasmania →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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