The return of cruising is being welcomed by the Tasmanian tourism industry

Cruise ships will return to Tasmanian ports from October in a big way and tourism operators are looking forward a significant boost in visitors. See how many are headed our way >>>

MORE than 60 cruise ships are expected to dock in Hobart this spring and summer as Australia reopens to the cruise industry.

Cruise ships – banned from Australian waters in March 2020 in response to the escalating Covid pandemic – are set to return to Tasmania from October.

Southern Tasmanian tourism operators got the low-down on the approaching cruise season at an industry workshop in Hobart on Thursday.

Destination Southern Tasmania CEO Alex Heroys said while TasPorts was still finalising its shipping schedule, cruise ship numbers for 2022-23 were set to match pre-Covid levels.

“We estimate it to be pretty much the same as 2019 with mid 60s in Hobart and around about early 20s to Port Arthur,” he said.

Australian Cruise Association CEO Jill Abel, director destination management and shore excursions for Carnival Australia Michael Mihajlov and Jay McKenzie, the director of the Bob Wood Cruise Group, at the Female Factory in South Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Mr Heroys said the resumption of cruising would provide much-needed income to many tourism businesses in Southern Tasmania.

“The tourism industry has been waiting for the announcement in Hobart especially. There are a lot of businesses that have spent 20 odd years gearing up towards the cruise ship market," he said.

“It’s a welcome return not just for the tourism industry but for the retail and food and beverage of the city and the regions.”

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Australian Cruise Association CEO Jill Abel said experience from overseas showed cruising had been able to resume safely.

“It’s going to be gradual through these winter months but we will be seeing pretty normal looking cruise season coming in to Tasmania this coming summer,” she said.

“Seventeen million people have been cruising somewhere in the world in over 100 countries in the last 18 months, so Australia is opening at a time when a lot of these protocols have been very well tested.”

Ms Abel said there was no sign Covid travel restrictions had permanently reduced the size of the international cruise industry.

“There’s 75 new ships on order in the coming five years,” she said.

Brooke Street Piers' shops packed with tourists with two cruise ships docked in Hobart. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

Tourism Australia industry relations manager for Tasmania Kristy Malapa said Hobart was in high demand among cruise ship visitors.

“The cruise industry is vitally important to Australia nationally, those really high numbers of over 300,000 international guests is something we can’t go without,” she said.