Key Points
The tourism industry has been badly let down by the Liberals throughout the Spirit of Tasmania fiasco.
It’s time for a fresh start for our state’s most iconic industry.
A Dean Winter Labor Government will:
- Bring back our Spirits
- Bring back more tourists to Tasmania
- Reduce the cost of doing business
Why we need it
Over the past 11 years under the Liberals, the tourism industry has been let down by poorly designed policy and – worst of all – the delay of our Spirits.
We need a Fresh Start for tourism in Tasmania.
“A Dean Winter Labor Government will give our tourism sector a fresh start by unlocking tens of thousands more seats on flights into Tasmania.”
The details
A Dean Winter Labor Government will:
1. Order both the Spirits home on Day 1 and mandate a dedicated tourism place on the TT-Line board to stop wasting money hiding our ships overseas and draw a line under the biggest stuff up in Tasmanian history. We will unlock $70 million of private capital for LNG refuelling facilities for the new Spirits at Devonport and commit to a strong program of extra day sailings until the new Spirits are in service.
2. Bring more tourists to Tasmania by allowing the aviation attraction fund to be accessed to expand existing routes, rather than being limited to new routes only
3. Cement Launceston as a premier business events destination with a $20 million contribution to a new convention centre for the city, delivered in partnership with the private sector – this will triple business events and contribute nearly $30 million annually to the northern economy.
4. Work with the Federal Government to deliver the iconic projects the Liberals haven’t by developing new funding plans for the Cradle Mountain Cableway, the Cradle Mountain Visitor Experience Masterplan, the Freycinet Peninsula Masterplan and the Destination Derby Community Masterplan
5. Oppose the Liberals’ tourist tax which will hurt regional tourism in particular
6. Lock in demand by maintaining the current budget allocations for Tourism Tasmania, the Visitor Economy Strategy, business events, parks, events support and the West Coast Wilderness Railway.
7. Reduce the cost of doing business for tourism operators
by working with the Federal Government to fix regional visa issues, develop national solutions for insurance costs and deliver key worker housing for the tourism sector
8. Premier to retain Tourism portfolio to continue the legacy of Jim Bacon, with a tourism and transport Cabinet subcommittee to be established to ensure problems are identified and resolved quickly across all ministries.
