Higher fuel costs have started to soften bookings on the Spirit of Tasmania, with the ferry operator and tourism leaders working to keep visitors flowing as two new ships prepare to enter service in October.
TT-Line chairman Ken Kanofski said cancellations had crept up and some passengers were postponing sailings since a 15% fuel surcharge was introduced on March 31.
“What we’re not sure of yet is whether those people are just waiting to see what happens and they’re still going to sail anyway,” Kanofski said.
He said summer crossings were up 5-6% on last year, with more than 320,000 passengers travelling across Bass Strait.
That included 13,000 caravans, 10,000 motorhomes and more than 10,000 motorbikes.
The surcharge was introduced to offset a fuel bill that could climb by $50 million a year as tensions in the Middle East drive global prices higher.
“No business can sustain that,” Kanofski said.
“The purpose of the fuel levy is to recover the additional costs of fuel. We will not be banking one cent of profit.”
He said the state-owned company would remove the levy as soon as possible but could not say when.
“I don’t have a crystal ball on how long a war in the Middle East is going to go for,” he said.
Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kerry Vincent said the project was on track, with both vessels now in Victoria and port works at Devonport almost complete.
“Spirits IV and V are safely in Australian waters and they look magnificent,” Vincent said.
“TT-Line is planning to bring both ships down to Devonport in August and test the gantry for first sailings in October.”
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Amy Hills said operators needed to be ready when the bigger ships arrived.
“It’s really time for us to come together to ensure that we’re educating and informing industry about what’s on the new ships [and] the type of visitors that will be travelling on them,” Hills said.
She said Tasmania still had a clear edge over mainland destinations, with most regions reachable within two to three hours.
“For us, going into the next 12 months, we really want to lean into that competitive advantage and we want to make sure that our operators are getting the most of it as well,” she said.
Workshops with Spirit of Tasmania will be held across the state’s north and north-west in the coming months.
