Tourism industry leaders have revealed they were completely blindsided by delays to the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries and missing Devonport berth, learning about the crisis at the same time as the general public.
Speaking before the Public Accounts Committee on Monday, Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (TICT) CEO Amy Hills said there was no advance warning before news of the delays broke.
“I was becoming aware of it at the same time that everyone else was becoming aware of it, essentially. As things were playing out through Parliament, I was hearing that at the same time as everyone else,” Hills said.
The hearing is examining the impacts on the tourism sector from the delayed delivery of new vessels and the required berth infrastructure at Devonport that has pushed the project back to at least October 2026.
TICT board director Daniel Leesong told the committee many simply assumed the berth works were already underway.
“Most people would probably not even understand the level of infrastructure needed to bring a project on. So it went through to the keeper,” he said.
“There was no hint, at least from my knowledge and the discussions I had as an industry participant and also as others talking to me, that there were significant headwinds afoot.”
Leesong said communication and clear timelines from the government would help give the community and industry more certainty moving forward.
“There was some feedback over last winter that people thought the Spirits had stopped sailing, so people just thought there was no ships because of the public debate around it,” he said.
Tourism operators across the north-west had invested based on expected increases in visitor numbers, numbers that so far haven’t materialised.
One caravan park owner said yesterday he would temporarily shut down his business as a direct result of the delays.
Transport Minister Eric Abetz said the project is now “back on track” following government intervention and the appointment of new leadership at TT-Line.
Despite ongoing challenges, including limited bookings for taller vehicles, tourism representatives remain cautiously optimistic about the long-term outlook once the new ferries arrive.
“Don’t underestimate the impact and the interest that that sort of visual representation will start to present,” Leesong said, referring to its planned Hobart arrival in July for fitting out.
“People will start talking and people will be wanting to be on it. I’m absolutely convinced that it will be a huge success once it actually gets going.”
