Calls to ban cruise ships from Aussie tourist hotspot
Few forms of travel are as polarising as cruising, and the industry is set to be the centre of another debate as calls to ban cruise ships from an Aussie tourist hotspot intensify.
Tasmania is set to play host to 125 cruise ships this year, docking in Burnie and Hobart, with 29 making a stop at Port Arthur and six stopping at Freycinet and Wineglass Bay.
This has prompted a petition for the State Government to ban large cruise ships from entering the waters around the national park, which has collected 12,000 signatures.
The petition is calling for an exclusion zone to be set up around all Tasmanian national park areas, to protect the biodiversity that is unique to the region.
Dr Sue Beeton, professor of tourism at William Angliss Institute, believes this is essential, telling ABC Radio Hobart, “Cruise shipping, I would say, is one of the most highly divisive aspects of tourism in that these enormous ships are so visible.
“There's a growing sense of privilege and expectations to also access more and more remote areas and often in a comfortable way.”
Luke Martin from the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania said now is the time for the State Government to figure out what the Apple Isle wants from the industry.
“We need to look at how we manage this appropriately,” he said.
“There are destinations all over the world that have dealt with this in good ways and bad ways.”
Do you agree with the moves to ban cruise ships from this Aussie tourist hotspot?