Teeny Brumby and Ian Jones pleased with reaction of cruise ship passengers who have visited Burnie and surrounds

Not even bad weather and a TasPorts industrial action dispute could dampen the success of Burnie’s cruise ship season.

The cruise ship Sea Princess docked at Burnie

Despite some slight hiccups, the consensus has been that the summer cruise ship season has been a success for Burnie.

The port city is a popular destination for cruise ships, with multiple vessels often stopping during the space of a week.

Burnie Mayor Teeny Brumby said the season had been incredible.

“With the beautiful summer days that Tassie has provided, the world-renowned welcoming from our amazing volunteers and our makers who put on an exceptional market experience have been thrilled to showcase their wares to the passengers and locals alike,” Ms Brumby said.

“We have been told many a time by the cruise ship passengers, that Burnie provides a welcome like no other port in the world.

Mayor of Burnie Council Teeny Brumby. Picture: supplied

“Our reputation that is building within the cruise industry is that Burnie is a place to visit not just because of the welcome they get from our amazing volunteers but also from our fantastic community, who will come up and say, ‘can I help you?’”

Ms Brumby said local businesses had also benefited.

“Our local business owners in the CBD have certainly seen an increase in their sales when we have a ship in.

“Especially the coffee shops and restaurants.

“All you need to do is take a walk around town, and you can see and feel the activity in our streets.

“Burnie is alive and well.”

Ms Brumby said the city would not be able to welcome the visitors without the help of volunteers.

“They are the backbone of what makes our cruise season such an incredible experience and an ongoing success.”

The cruise ship Sea Princess docked at Burnie

Business Northwest president Ian Jones said the cruise ship season had been going well.

“The council set up a market near the Marine Terrace multi-storey car park, and every time I’ve walked past, there have been lots of people checking it out,” Mr Jones said.

“I’ve noticed the coffee shops have been full, and cruise ship visitors have been buying stuff from our businesses.”

However, a few ships have had to cancel their stops in Burnie due to bad weather, and the Vasco da Gama ship will skip its scheduled docking in the city on Thursday due to industrial action from the TasPorts marine pilots.

Despite that, Mr Jones said that Burnie had left a positive impression on the people who had visited the city on a cruise.

“What we find is that a lot of people will often come back later on and visit the city more in-depth following the cruise.

“I know a couple who had visited the region on a cruise ship 10 years ago, and then as soon as they got home, they bought a house here.”