Tasmania’s cruise season has begun, with the Celebrity Solstice arriving in Hobart this morning as the first of 85 cruise ships due to visit the state before May.
More than 241,000 passengers and crew are expected to visit Tasmania between October and May.
Celebrity Cruises Australia and New Zealand managing director Tim Jones said the Solstice was last in Tasmania in 2020 and was on a 110-day voyage from Vancouver to Hong Kong.
He said Celebrity Solstice and Celebrity Edge, which arrives later this month, would make 13 visits to Hobart over the next two years, bringing 39,000 visitors along with more than 1,000 crew each time.
“Tasmania is a really firm favourite amongst our guests because it just delivers that rich, beautiful, elevated food and experience that they’re looking for,” Jones said.
Tourism Tasmania chief executive Sarah Kingston Clark said about 110 tourism operators had signed up to offer shore experiences to cruise visitors.
She said about 20,000 people had returned to Tasmania this year after first visiting on a cruise.
Kingston Clark said a four-year cruise action plan launched this year aimed to attract premium ships, get more Tasmanian produce on board and lengthen stays.
She said Tasmania faced strong competition for ships from destinations including New Zealand, with rising fuel prices making it costly to bring vessels to Australia.
“We really, really need to show our offering here in Tasmania to get those exclusive ships to come and visit our shores,” she said.
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kerry Vincent said cruise visits injected about $120 million a year into the Tasmanian economy, from bus services to local shops.
“It’s terrific to see ships returning to our shores and bringing thousands of visitors eager to experience everything Tasmania has to offer,” he said.
Vincent said the number of ships had fallen from a peak of 143, but larger vessels meant passenger and crew numbers had increased significantly.
He said the last couple of seasons had been “around the 85, 86 mark”, with COVID and issues in the Middle East affecting cruise routes.
