The disappointment over news that the new spirit of Tasmania ships won’t be operating in the state until early 2027 is starting to sink in for the tourism businesses. While the government’s multimillion-dollar tourism rescue package has been welcomed, many are questioning whether it will be enough to make up for the loss of extra visitors the new ships were going to bring.
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00:00For the past five years, caravan park owner Peter Robinson has been preparing for the
00:08arrival of the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries.
00:11The redevelopment, the acquisition and the building of accommodation was $5 million plus.
00:19The ships, with their 40% extra capacity, have been described as a game changer for
00:25the state, and should reduce the currently long wait for a caravan to get on.
00:31It's just frustrating because we get people ring up and they're trying to plan a trip
00:35and we say to them on the phone straight away, before you even start planning a trip, ring
00:40TT Line up and find out when you can get on.
00:44Unfortunately, Mr Robinson is far more organised than ferry operator TT Line, which has found
00:50itself with almost ready ships, but no home berth.
00:55That won't be finished until February 2027.
00:58It's just ridiculous.
00:59Can't they organise their way out of a brown paper bag?
01:02It's actually very disappointing that they didn't forward plan for that one.
01:06I think it's like the same as the bridge that didn't line up.
01:10The new bridge that doesn't join up.
01:13It's ridiculous.
01:15The government's being urged to sail its way out of the stuff up.
01:19At the moment, there are only a few double day sailings a week.
01:24to increase that dramatically.
01:26I do think we need to drive the two vessels we currently have as hard as we can to fill
01:30the gap that was going to be filled by the two new vessels.
01:33What they need to do is add as many day sailings as they possibly can onto the roster now online
01:38so that people can actually book it.
01:39While the caravan spaces might fill up fast, the ships aren't always at capacity.
01:45In fact, overall bookings are down roughly 12% for the upcoming peak season.
01:51The government's hoping subsidised fares, which are part of its $26 million tourism
01:56package, will lead to more general bookings and extra day sailings.
02:01We absolutely take responsibility.
02:03We are sad about it.
02:04We feel disappointed.
02:05We feel let down.
02:07But we're not shying away from the fact that we now have these issues.
02:15Launching a rescue boat this morning, the government hopes it's not too late to fix
02:20the ferry fiasco.