Jeremy Rockliff,Minister for Tourism
With cruise ships to once again return to our shores for the upcoming season, the Tasmanian Liberal Government is today releasing an independent report into the value the cruise ship market brings to our State.
We recognise that while cruise ships bring economic benefits to many parts of the tourism and hospitality industry and broader economy, there were concerns prior to COVID-19 about the scale of growth and future projections of the sector.
The value proposition of the cruise market for Tasmania Report, completed by KPMG, will allow us to better understand the economic, social and environmental benefits, and impacts that cruise ships have in Tasmania, as part of the T21 Visitor Economy Action Plan.
This work has involved extensive consultation including tourism and hospitality businesses right across the State and industry associations, local councils, the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), Parks and Wildlife, TasPorts, Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) and the cruise industry.
In response to the findings of this work, there are a number of actions the Government is taking immediately to improve the value proposition of the cruise market for Tasmanian businesses, our communities and our beautiful wild areas.
These include:
- Tourism Tasmania and TasPorts working together with cruise lines on ways to improve the value proposition of the cruise market for Tasmania;
- Improving the management of expedition cruises through a review of cruise access arrangements in Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour and cruise-related fees with no additional licences to be granted until the review is completed by the end of 2022;
- Developing a plan for regional ports and anchorages incorporating the KPMG triple bottom line findings, infrastructure investment and community consultation particularly in relation to Flinders Island and King Island;
- Providing cross-agency coordinated management of expedition vessel applications and approvals;
- TasPorts reinforcing the existing policy of two vessels at one time in Hobart; and
- Providing grant funding for Regional Tourism Organisations to provide industry support to re-engage cruise companies with Tasmanian tour operators to manage shore visits, maximise the 2022-23 economic opportunity and share economic benefits beyond the port areas.
The T21 Steering Committee will also work with TasPorts to analyse the KPMG findings and determine options that will provide the highest positive impact for Tasmania from this market over the longer term.
This approach complements the strategic focus on high yield visitation, which is reflected in the recent Tasmanian Visitor Survey data that shows that average visitor spend is well up on pre pandemic levels.
I want to thank all of the businesses and agencies that contributed to this extensive work, which can be found at
