The 2016-17 cruise season was the best ever for Tasmania, with 236,794 cruise ship visitors arriving in Tasmania, a massive 45 per cent increase on the previous year.
New figures released today show that there were 95 port calls around the State, including 17 in Burnie, 22 at Port Arthur, 6 in Wineglass Bay and one at Flinders Island.
The 2017-18 cruise ship season is looking even bigger with 138 port calls already booked, which is an increase of nearly 50 per cent.
There is no doubt that Tasmania is a must see destination and it’s not surprising that we are seeing more and more cruise ships wanting to experience our beautiful scenery, our rich heritage and our amazing food and beverages.
What’s vital is that we encourage cruise ships to visit regional areas of Tasmania, and it’s very exciting to see that the MS Caledonian Sky will visit Stanley. The MS Caledonian Sky is a smaller, boutique cruise ship, which specialises in providing customers with premium experiences. This will be a massive shot in the arm for the Circular Head region and we will be working with the community to make sure they get the most out of the MS Caledonian Sky’s visit. The visit will let us showcase the Circular Head region and everything it has to offer.
Over recent years, we have worked with TasPorts to improve cruise ship facilities at Burnie and in Hobart and we are currently developing the State’s first cruise ship strategy, which will ensure that Tasmania, especially regional Tasmania, continues to benefit from increasing demand from cruise lines to visit Tasmania.