Peter Gutwein,Premier
The Tasmanian Government is continuing to do all we can to ensure Tasmanians are as safe and secure as possible in these difficult times.
We acknowledge the continued support of our commercial accommodation providers and understand the uncertainty they are facing as we deal with COVID-19.
Our advice is clear- unless you are a returning Tasmanian or an essential traveller, you should not come to our state given our strong border restrictions to keep Tasmanians safe and secure.
The Spirit of Tasmania has scheduled extra day sailings on the 3rd, 4th and 6th April to enable all non-essential workers and visitors with caravans and campervans to leave the state. The previously advised deadline of 11.59 pm 1st April 2020 for caravan parks to accommodate people waiting to travel will be extended to cater for this situation.
To clarify, accommodation providers can continue to offer services to:
- Tasmanian workers;
- Interstate workers deemed as “Essential Workers”;
- People that are in a self-isolation period (who must vacate at the end of the 14 day required period);
- People currently residing permanently at the premises; including students*
- People that predominantly reside while their principal residence is unavailable; and
- People currently residing permanently there for compassionate reasons, including emergency accommodation due to an emergency, family violence or vulnerability.
*Students that are residing in commercial accommodation on a permanent basis are permitted to stay on but will require a letter from their education institution verifying their student status
For accommodation providers unsure on when to accept or retain future bookings, these decisions will need to be made individually by businesses, while keeping in mind that things may change as the situation develops.
These are unprecedented times for our tourism industry, but all levels of Government are doing everything we can to ensure our important industries can recover.
