The head of the Tasmanian Tourism Industry Council has welcomed the comments from Liberal Senator Jonathon Duniam about the federal government being willing to extend free car travel on the Spirit of Tasmania beyond June.
Assistant Minister for Industry Development Senator Duniam said he would discuss the benefits with TCIT chief executive Luke Martin and West by North West chief Tom Wootton.
"The comments were encouraging," Mr Martin said.
"Unashamedly, if the initiative is working as well as it is, and judging by how full the forward monthly sailings are on the Spirit at the moment, it's working. I don't know why you would remove it at the end of June in the middle of winter.
"If it's working and a very effective stimulus for visitation into the regions, I would be very interested to see if the case is there to extend it for a time to come.
"We will work through that over the coming weeks after seeing the numbers from TT-Line about what the benefit is but to my mind; it's encouraging that the government is open to doing that."
Mr Martin said to keep the tourism industry ticking over by growing demand through smart incentives like giving reasons for people to travel, it was a more effective way of supporting the economy than grants to businesses to prop them up.
He said TT-Line shared its bookings data with the federal government as part of the grant process and publicly released the numbers.
If the bookings were good, the case would write itself to keep going and extend free car travel to the end of the year, he said.
In the meantime, Mr Martin rejected some people's claims that Spirit fares had gone up since the subsidy came in.
"TT-Line has said very clearly they have not changed their pricing structure," Mr Martin said.
"They do dynamic pricing, and the reason they do that is to support the business model to allow more daytime crossings which are very cheap.
"If people are flexible, you can certainly get some very low-cost crossings, particularly on the day crossings with free car travel when I think it's $300 return.
"But if you're going to go in the middle of March on a Saturday night and book two weeks out, you will be lucky to get on, and it's going to be a premium price that's the reality of the airlines and TT-Line."
A free car subsidy was introduced under the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme until June 30 to boost bookings in the shoulder tourism season after the sector was hit hard by the COVID-19 border restrictions uncertainty.
Senator Duniam and TT-Line chief executive Bernard Dwyer were in Devonport on March 1 to welcome the first passengers arriving under the bring your car for free program on the Spirit.
"So far, more than 32,800 vehicles have booked to travel under the Bass Strait Passenger Vehicle Equalisation Scheme, which will bring a much-needed boost to tourism right across the state," Senator Duniam said.
"The coronavirus pandemic hit Tasmania's tourism industry hard, and bookings on the Spirit of Tasmania dropped by up to 85 per cent.
"Our $6 million boost is turning that around, with more than 13,700 bookings this month alone bringing travellers to our island and providing the kick-start we need to rebuild tourism.
"We know those who travel to Tasmania by sea stay longer, spend more and travel further into our regional areas.
"With more than 28,000 cars, 200 motorbikes, 1500 motorhomes, and 1400 caravans booked on the Spirit of Tasmania under the program, it's proving to be the incentive travellers needed to discover for themselves why Tasmania is the greatest place to holiday.
"For travel from March 1 until 30 June 2021, or until the remaining $2.1 million in funding has been exhausted, travellers can bring their car or motorbike to Tasmania at zero cost and discover everything Tasmania has to offer.
"This represents an average saving of around $240 return for travellers, and those travelling with a caravan or motorhome will receive the average $240 return saving for their vehicle."