Expedition cruise is the part of the cruise market most closely aligned to the Tasmanian brand. Ships are small and nature-focused, they bring high-value travellers, and they reach regions without adding private vehicles. Many of these visitors would not come to Tasmania any other way.
Tourism Tasmania engaged episteme, in partnership with the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, TasPorts, MAST and the Department of State Growth, to design a better way to assess where these ships anchor and land. Through co-design workshops with the approving agencies and expedition cruise operators, we found a process that was serving no one well. Agencies weren’t coordinated, there was no clear basis for decisions, community input had no formal role, and nobody was monitoring cumulative impacts.
The framework sets out eight recommendations. Among them are a coordinating group across agencies, a shared booking system for ships, regional community committees, and a streamlined assessment process.