Tourism and hospitality industry keen to welcome back interstate visitors as Crowne Plaze Hobart officially opens
As a long-awaited Hobart hotel opens its doors, Tasmania’s tourism industry is gearing up to welcome interstate visitors back into the state. SEE THE GALLERY
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TASMANIA is expected to be a popular post-COVID destination according to the state’s tourism agency, with operators eager to greet interstate visitors when the borders open later this month.
This comes as Hobart welcomed the opening of its latest accommodation offering — the long-awaited luxurious Crowne Plaza Hotel.
At the hotel’s opening on Wednesday, Tourism Tasmania CEO John Fitzgerald said with an increase in intrastate tourism across the state, they were now looking forward to welcoming domestic visitors.
“All the signs are that demand will be quite positive for Tasmania,” he said.
“We’re working with airlines already on where the flights are going to be coming from on the schedule for August.”
Mr Fitzgerald said direct flights from Hobart to Sydney were very feasible.
“We’re hoping of course [that] Melbourne can be in, but if we have to divert and do something different we can certainly talk to airlines about that,” he said.
Tasmanian Hospitality Association CEO Steve Old said it had been a long journey for the Kalis Group in getting the Crowne Plaza up and running.
“It’s perfect timing that as we ease restrictions we can get a venue like this open, and hopefully Tasmanians can enjoy it to start with,” he said.
“It’d be great to get the borders open but our primary objective at the moment is just to get Tasmanians out and about in our hospitality venues.
“We’re really excited about what the future holds for our industry.”
Kalis Group CEO Alexia Kalis said though the completion of the Icon Complex was an amazing feat for them, the Crowne Plaza Hotel was always going to be the pinnacle of the development.
“It’s pretty amazing. The views are stunning, the outdoor deck is just divine, and us Tasmanians who don’t mind the cold will love it out there,” she said.
“It’s just a beautiful venue to spend many hours of time in.”
Two of the hotel’s restaurants, Core and The Deck, are open for patrons, with the Aura rooftop bar expected to open in spring.
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