Some big lures including Gordon River Cruises reopening as local visitors trickle into West Coast

A major eco-tourism venture is back on the water but Tasmania’s West Coast needs locals to fill the visitor gap left by border closures. Find out why you should travel West >>

• Red Lion pub owners asked to pay $1m in old debt
• Family’s overseas travel nightmare continues

ONE of the West Coast’s major tourism attractions is about to reopen, and the region hopes it spurs Tasmanians into visiting one of the state’s most spectacular but isolated areas.

Gordon River Cruises at Strahan will get back on the water on Friday, aiming to take advantage of school holiday traffic, which Mayor Phil Vickers says has been “trickling” through the region since Monday.

Mayor Vickers runs the West Coast Heritage Centre at Zeehan. On Monday and Tuesday just 20 visitors went through the centre each day.

“It is great to hear Gordon River Cruises will be operating again, but we are really pinning our hopes on the September school holidays to rebound with the West Coast Wilderness Railway and World Heritage cruises not planning to get back into business till then,” Mayor Vickers said.

Bonnet Island, Macquarie Harbour, near Strahan, which can be seen from a Gordon River cruise. Picture: SUPPLIED BY GRC

“Let’s hope Tasmanians take up the call to get out and about because we traditionally rely heavily on interstate tourism traffic.

“At the Heritage Centre, for example, only 13 per cent of visitors come from Tasmania, and even less from overseas.

“The rest are from the mainland, and they obviously are not coming any time soon.”

Gordon River Cruises’ Spirit of the Wild will sail each Friday, Saturday and Sunday until further notice, and children can cruise on the main deck for free until July 20.

Chief operating officer RACT Destinations Andrew Paynter said while COVID-19 had undoubtedly been difficult for business, there were plenty of positives on the horizon.

“As the first major attraction in the region to reopen, we’re really hoping to kickstart the visitor economy on the West Coast and attract people from around Tasmania to enjoy all the wonderful things it has to offer,” Mr Paynter said.

“Without interstate and international visitors, the last few months have been very challenging.

“But we are very lucky in Tasmania to have an abundance of world-class experiences right in our back yard, and Tasmanians have shown a real desire to get out and enjoy them.

“We’ve been very encouraged by the level of local interest so far, and we’ve added two additional cruises on July 15 and 16 to cater for demand.”

Mr Paynter said operational changes had been implemented to protect the health and safety of cruisers.