A key document being relied on to make the case for approving a cable car on kunanyi/Mount Wellington is five years old and is based on cruise ship passengers and mountain bike enthusiasts making up a large portion of the development's customer base.
The economic impact report included in the project's development application to the Hobart City Council was finalised in May 2016, and has been written on the assumption that the base station for the project would be built at the Cascade Brewery, rather than at the new proposed site at McRobies Gully.
It found locals were likely to make up only a small proportion of cable car riders, but that the project would be "highly relevant" to cruise ship passengers.
Mountain bike enthusiasts were expected to make up another significant portion of the customer base, in addition to independent travellers.
Vica Bayley, from the group Residents Opposed to the Cable Car, said the report was outdated and contained "fundamental flaws".
"It's five years old, everybody knows that the economic and the tourism situation has changed in the last five years," he said.
Mr Bayley said the "external tourism market" was "fundamentally different".
"It just shows a glaring inadequacy with this development application that a company that's wanting to put a private commercial development on publicly reserved land is prepared to submit a five-year-old impact analysis that's anchored in some fundamental flaws."
Chris Oldfield from the Mount Wellington Cableway Company said the report had been given to the Hobart City Council two years ago, but he believed its findings remained accurate.
He said cruise ship passengers were not critical to the success of the development.
The report found the economic impact of the project would be $64 million in its first year of operation, and between $79.5 million and $99.9 million in subsequent years.
Many of the other figures in the report have been redacted, which the company said was because the information was commercially sensitive.
It is unclear whether Hobart City Council members will receive an unredacted version of the report before making their decision on whether to approve the project.
Those opposed to the project have raised concerns about the redactions.
Local mountain biker Jeff Thomas said despite the sport's growing popularity, he was worried the cable car development could end up being a "net loss" for riders.
"There's no reason for mountain bikers to use a cable car at all," Mr Thomas said.
"I think there's a net loss for mountain bikers from the cable car proposal, there are no trails from the summit coming down, and where the base station is proposed to go is going to interrupt the current mountain bike trails."
The company behind the project has promised any impacted trails will be reconstructed.
Mr Oldfield said the company hoped to work with riders and the council to develop trails from the summit.
"Mountain biking has become such an important activity throughout the state it would be great to see it expand but in a responsible manner on Mount Wellington as well," Mr Oldfield said.
The economic impact assessment said the company estimated 200 jobs would be created during the construction period, an unknown number of which would be taken up by highly specialised interstate and European staff.
The development application also incorrectly attributes the economic impact assessment as the work of independent economist Saul Eslake.
Whilst Mr Eslake wrote a letter included in the document supporting the methodology used in the report, the report itself was compiled by Phil Bayley of Strategy 42 South.
The development application was formally accepted by the council in late May, and is expected to be considered next month.
The Hobart City Council has already received 3200 submissions about the cable car.
