The Spirit of Tasmania celebrated its first anniversary – and record numbers of passengers – at GeelongPort this week with a gathering at Corio Quay.
Spirit of Tasmania acting chief executive John McGrath and GeelongPort chief executive Brett Winter were joined by local MPs Libby Coker, Christine Couzens and Ella George.
In addition to bringing in an estimated $21 million of tourism to the region, the Spirit has also created 750 jobs in the region across the tourism and freight industries.
Mr McGrath said the move to Geelong a year ago had been a “great success for the company” and thanked the local community for its support.
“During the Financial Year, we transported more than 213,766 passenger vehicles and 106,578 TEUs (freight),” he said.
“The new terminal at Geelong has significantly improved the company’s ability to deliver an elevated level of service to our passengers across all areas of our business. Passenger feedback provided to the company reflects this positive change.
“We’re even more excited about the future with two new larger vessels arriving in 2024 to replace our current fleet. The increased number of passengers travelling in both directions presents a huge opportunity for the tourism industry here in Victoria and in Tasmania.”
Ms Carter said the Spirit of Tasmania services had only bolstered TGGB’s mission, bringing many benefits to the local economy.
“Mobility data shows that visitors who arrive via Spirit of Tasmania tend to stay longer in our region, venture further and spend more generously compared to the average,” she said.
“Over a 12-month period, overnight visitors spent approximately $2.3 million, while day trip
passengers injected $18.7 million.
“We hoped people would see Geelong as an extension of their Spirit journey, and they certainly have. We’re thrilled with how the first year has gone.”
