TASMANIAN travellers this summer can get some of the cheapest flights in years, with fares to Melbourne just $59 in the peak week before Christmas.
Cheap fares are the result of a big increase in the number of flights on offer from all major airlines, including Tiger Airways which returns to the state at the start of November.
The extra services mean another 400,000 seats will be available on flights in and out of the state during this financial year, with many of the extra services scheduled to run over summer months.
Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the extra seats could deliver up to 200,000 more tourists to the state, worth a potential $312 million to the local economy.
Jetstar was offering flights to Melbourne on December 22 for $59 and flights to Sydney for $79 on December 18.
Flights departing Hobart were slightly cheaper than inbound flights in the week before Christmas.
The cheapest ticket from Melbourne during this time was a $65 Tiger flight on December 18.
The cheapest flight from Sydney in the week before Christmas was an $89 Jetstar fare on December 18.
Virgin Australia has flights to the Gold Coast for $119 on December 17 and 18, while Jetstar was offering flights from the Gold Coast to Hobart for $119 the same week.
Tiger Airways will operate two return flights a day to Melbourne when the carrier returns to our airways in November, boosting the number of seats in and out of the state by more than 2500 each week.
To cater for the Christmas rush, Tiger will run a third daily service between mid-December and January.
Tiger has, for some time, been offering fares to and from Melbourne for $44.95 each way.
Mr Martin warned people to snap up cheap fares early. He said summer events such as Taste, Falls Festival, MONA FOMA, the Wooden Boat Festival and 10 Days on the Island were major drawcards for visitors.
The tourism industry was hard hit last year by the high cost of flights to and from the state during summer months, with flights from Melbourne to Bali on sale from $289, compared with flights from Melbourne to Hobart which cost $400.
Mr Martin said cheap flights this year meant Tasmania was better able to compete with destinations like New Zealand, with airfares costing around $300.
He said the state's tourism operators were optimistic about the summer season.
But Mr Martin warned the tourism industry had to work hard to ensure demand for the additional services was maintained.
"Airlines will pull (flights) just as quickly as they put them on," he said. |