‘Use it or lose it’ is the message from Tasmania’s tourism industry as the state celebrates the return of Air New Zealand’s direct Auckland to Hobart flights after a six-month hiatus.
Eager passengers, some arriving from as far as North America, stepped off the plane and onto Tasmanian soil 30 minutes ahead of schedule on Sunday morning.
Over the next five months, Air New Zealand will operate three weekly flights to Hobart on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, adding 24,000 international seats to and from the island state.
Hobart Airport Chief Financial and Commercial Officer Kate Gillies described the service as a “ticket to the world”.
“They can clear customs in Hobart and travel via Auckland to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Hawaii and more,” she said.
“With one of these tickets, Tasmanians could literally have brunch in Salamanca and dinner in New York on the very same day.”
Tourism Industry Council CEO Amy Hills said today was a “fantastic day for Tasmania”, particularly for those with family and business ties across the Tasman.
“The fact that Air New Zealand sees real demand in our market and has the confidence to bring back these flights when they’re going through their own flight maintenance schedule is really a boost in the arm for our tourism industry here in Tassie,” she said.
“They also come at a really important time which is just before summer when Tassie is alive.”
She encouraged Kiwis to seize the opportunity and explore the island state.
“Come over. Experience what we’ve got to offer,” Hills said.
“It’s always great to visit Tassie and we’d love to see as many people use this service as possible. We need, as Tasmanians, to support the service but also those from New Zealand as well.”
Transport Minister Eric Abetz personally welcomed arriving passengers at the gate with gifts of Tasmanian-made Cadbury chocolate.
“This is going to be a great celebration for our state [and] a real boost for our tourism sector,” he said.
“In Tasmania we have about 500,000 international visitors visit every year and … what does that do?”
“Create job and employment opportunities and wealth which is exactly what we want to see happening in our state.”
Air New Zealand’s Head of Australian Airports Scott Smith said the service will continue through to March 2025, with forward bookings over the summer season “exceptionally strong”.
“We’re committed to maintaining these services over the summer and ensuring that we service the demand as best we can,” he said.
“Year-on-year we’re seeing stronger demand which is fantastic and particularly from our North American market where we’re seeing traffic grow upwards of 10% year-on-year, season-on-season.”
