The first cruise ship to dock in Tasmania since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has arrived in Hobart this morning, carrying around 3,000 passengers and crew.
The Pacific Explorer is the first to dock in two years after the federal government imposed a ban on cruise liners in an effort to control the rising tide of cases at the time.
It is the first of 150 ship arrivals this season, which are expected to bring 150,000 tourists to the state over the next six months.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said cruises were an important contributor to Tasmania's visitor economy.
"Many Tasmanian businesses are celebrating today's arrival of the Pacific Explorer and the start of the 2022-23 cruise season," he said.
For Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, a regular destination for cruise visitors, the return is a godsend.
"For us at Bonorong, cruise ships are massive," director Greg Irons said.
"It's a really exciting point for us, we have battled our way through the last three years ... 15,000 animals a year needing help, we are reliant on people coming through these doors to basically fund that.
"So we've been operating at times at 30 per cent of our normal income with 69 paid staff, it's a lot to recover. So for us, not only do cruise ships bring in vital funds, they're so exciting and vibrant, the place comes to life."
Destination Southern Tasmania's Alex Heroys said this season would be a big boost for a lot of operators and businesses that have struggled during the pandemic.
"We're really excited about the return of this sector, we're looking forward to welcoming nearly 200,000 passengers over the entire season and this gives us a greater opportunity to showcase Tasmania," he said.
Local shop owner Jennifer Cossins said not having cruise ships had affected them "quite a lot".
"All the stallholders here are artists, we all create our own products and having cruise ships and tourists come in who are looking to buy quality Tasmanian art is really important to us," she said.
"The last few years have been a little bit tough, but we're excited that the ships are back."
COVID cases spark lockdown on WA cruise
The return came amidst news yesterday that passengers and crew on the first cruise liner to enter Western Australia in over two years — the Coral Princess — were forced to isolate for five days with COVID-19 symptoms.
"WA Health has been advised of passengers and crew testing positive to COVID-19, and this evolving situation is being managed by the vessel operator according to its COVID-19 plan," a WA Health spokesperson said.
"Under the protocols, those onboard vessels who have COVID should isolate for five days."
A spokesperson for the company operating the vessel, Princess Cruises, said the rise in COVID-19 cases aboard was being "managed effectively" in accordance with national and state protocols.
Tourism Industry Council chair Daniel Leesong said living with COVID was "the new normal" but that arrivals needed to be carefully managed.
"Industry has to get on with it and society has to get on with it. The time for lockdowns is passed, and what we really need to see is people returning to normality," he said.
"We don't want to see three large cruise ships on any one day, we don't want to see flooding of Salamanca Market. What we want to do is ensure that people are staged in a way that really maximises the experience for everybody involved.
"The very thing that Tasmania is known for is its local, friendly attitude, and it's known for its uncrowded attractions. We want to make sure we manage it appropriately so those uncrowded attractions remain really top of the tree."
Business management consultant KPMG found luxury cruise ships, which carry around 600 passengers, spend more and are worth around $397,000 to the economy.
Larger ships generate around $539,000, while mega-ships spend less and produce more emissions, it found.
