There has been an unprecedented level of interest in the new Spirits of Tasmania, with TT-Line bookings on track to crack the magic 400,000 mark before June 30.
The Hodgman Liberal Government came to office with a strong commitment to increase passenger numbers on the Spirits of Tasmania as they drive tourism growth, create jobs and boost our economy.
There have been 377,000 passengers carried as at the end of April 2016, nearly 10 per cent more than at the same date last year alone and already well ahead of the full year results achieved under the last year of Labor.
We also welcome the TT-Line announcement this week that it would yet again increase its day sailing schedule to 138 in 2016/17, with the addition of day sailings every Saturday from mid-September 2016 until after Easter 2017 – 54 Saturday day sailings in total.
Access is a critical element of the Hodgman Liberal Government's Visitor Economy Strategy for Tasmania. The Spirits assist to connect Tasmania to the mainland and on to the world, an important part of achieving 1.5 million visitors to Tasmania every year by 2020.
That’s why we chose to invest in the refurbishment of the Spirits, in addition to increasing the number of day sailings and significantly reducing fare prices.
More people than ever are coming to visit Tasmania thanks to the strong policies of this majority Liberal Government, and it’s about time the Opposition, which has opposed our plan from the start, acknowledged this and accepted they were wrong.
I look forward to the release of the TT-Line annual results for the current financial year, which I expect will be further evidence of the success of our policy for the Spirits.