Tasmania’s cruise ship season has exploded back to life with the arrival of the Crown Princess in Hobart.
Carrying close to 3,000 passengers to the state’s shores, the ship marks the first of many set to grace Tasmanian ports between now and May next year.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff says the industry injects around $144 million into the state’s economy annually, with around $30 million of that invested directly into local businesses, allowing thousands of visitors to experience the best of Tasmania.
“It’s fantastic that the cruise ship season is now open,” he said.
“That means that all those thousands of people get to experience the very best of Tasmania, our hospitality, our beautiful food, our wine, our whiskeys and our friendly nature of Tasmanians.”
Captain Christopher Lye of the Crown Princess said it was a privilege to bring the ship to Hobart for the first time.
“The ship is 18 years old [and has] never been here before, which I find amazing,” he said.
“It’s a fantastic sailing. We love it. And we like it so much we’re actually staying four hours longer than we should be tonight on our first call.”
Lye said many travellers are drawn to the unique appeal of cruising over flying for the serenity.
“It’s popular because we take people here and they don’t have to unpack more than once when they get on board,” he said.
“They see things you don’t see from an airplane … and you just get much more of the experience of where you are if you come by sea.”
Steve Old from the Tasmanian Hospitality Association says the industry is excited to welcome visitors back to venues across the state.
“We’re really excited about this time of the year. We’ve come off a quieter than normal winter, but we know all the work that Government and Tourism Tasmania is doing together,” he said.
“We’re going to have a booming summer, and this is the start of it with these ships coming in.”
