TOURISM Greater Geelong and The Bellarine’s Executive Director, Brett Ince, believes the Spirit of Tasmania would represent a “great opportunity” for the region’s tourism industry if she were to be redirected to the area from Melbourne. Addressing comments made in Victorian State Parliament this week that the vessel could be...
TOURISM Greater Geelong and The Bellarine’s Executive Director, Brett Ince, believes the Spirit of Tasmania would represent a “great opportunity” for the region’s tourism industry if she were to be redirected to the area from Melbourne.
Addressing comments made in Victorian State Parliament this week that the vessel could be “shifted” to Geelong amid “price gouging” claims at Melbourne’s Station Pier, Ince told CW the city’s economy would benefit greatly if it were to happen, but cautioned that a significant level of planning would be needed for it to become a reality.
“With the large capacity of visitation from both pre-embarking and disembarking passengers on the Spirit of Tasmania, it would be a fabulous boost to our region,” he admitted.
“However, it’s hard to understand at this point whether it could be an opportunity, a lot of discussions would need to take place with both the Spirit of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Government,” Ince added.
Victorian Ports Corporation CEO Rachel Johnson confirmed discussions were underway with Spirit of Tasmania’s parent company TT-Line, telling CW the goal is to create “an efficient infrastructure solution” to accommodate the company’s new ships coming into service over the next two years.
“Nearly half a million people travel on the Spirit of Tasmania each year and we look forward to continue working with them to ensure the interests of both Victorians and Tasmanians,” Johnson said.
TT-Line signed a new agreement last month with Finnish shipyard RMC to construct two new vessels, after it cancelled a contract with shipbuilder FSG, citing financial issues at the German company as the reason.
