Tasmania's tourism industry is booming and in another positive sign, we welcome the announcement that Virgin Australia will resume direct services between Launceston – Perth and Launceston – Adelaide.
Virgin Australia pioneered these services during the COVID pandemic and built good passenger support prior to border closures forcing the airline to cancel the flights.
The airline has identified the significant demand into and out of the State's north and north west by holiday and business travellers and, importantly, local the FIFO workers.
These direct flights will provide more options for travellers and additional capacity to meet demand and have been warmly welcomed by the Tasmanian community, as well as tourism and business operators.
Tasmania's tourism industry is one of our greatest success stories with nearly 300,000 visitors to the State in April, May and June, and the highest spend for any June quarter on record.
These new flights will maintain this momentum and further encourage visitation to the North West and surrounding regions, ensuring the benefits are spread into our regional areas.
Despite Virgin Australia being impacted by the challenges that all airlines are facing in re-establishing their operations after the pandemic, it is encouraging that Virgin has steadily grown its market presence here in Tasmania and we congratulate it on its foresight and thank it for its commitment to our State.
The Tasmanian Government continues to work closely with Launceston Airport to support its efforts in attracting new services and this announcement is a great result for Shane O'Hare and his team at Launceston Airport.
