DESTINATION Tweed CEO Bill Tatchell has resigned from his post, five-and-a-half years after taking on the job of building the region's tourism industry.

Mr Tatchell leaves the post a year before Destination Tweed's contract with Tweed Shire Council is due to expire, at the end of September 2018.

Mr Tatchell said he was looking forward to finally being able to enjoy the shire from a tourist's perspective.

"The Tweed is now in a very stable footing and it's time to take a step back,” Mr Tatchell told the Tweed Daily News .

"I'm going to take some time off to enjoy the Tweed because everywhere I go I look at it as a work project.

"All the walking trails that I've been reading about and promoting, I actually want to do them. I want to explore them.”

Destination Tweed chairman Aymon Gow praised Mr Tatchell for his contribution to the shire.

"Bill and his team have worked hard over the last five years to put the Tweed on the map, and the numbers show that the work they have been doing is paying off, with more still to come,” Mr Gow said.

"The board appreciate the hard work and dedication Bill has shown to his role and to the region and sincerely thank him for his efforts.”

Mr Tatchell leaves the region's tourism industry in top shape, with new data revealing the Tweed outperforming the New South Wales average.

Tweed Shire Council General Manager Troy Green said earlier this week there was a clear, upward trend in tourism growth for the shire.

"There's been a 13% increase over the previous 12 months from March to March,” he said.

Mr Green said the data showed visitors were now staying longer on the Tweed.

"While we've had an increase in visitation, our tourists are also staying longer with the average stay being 3.6 nights,” he said.

"More importantly, the ABS and Destination NSW tells us that the yield has increased.

"That is, the average takings per room, per night for all rooms whether they're occupied or not.

"The Tweed outperforms the NSW average. That yield is 14.7%, (while) on the North Coast of NSW it's 5.2%, regional NSW is 4.4% and in NSW holistically it's 7.3%.”

Mr Tatchell said he believed Tweed's tourism growth would continue on the back of Destination Tweed's hard work.