TAKING OFF: Devonport Flight Centre consultant Ebony Robinson, left, and manager Lisa Robertson say cheap flights mean there is no better time to fly. Picture: Chris Kidd
HOLIDAY travel for Tasmanians is more affordable than ever, with flights to Melbourne slashed to less than $40 in the week before Christmas.
The discount fares are at least 90 per cent cheaper than flights available at the same time last year. But Tasmanians have been warned by airlines and the state's tourism chief to take up the cheap offers or risk losing them.
Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the turnaround was great news for travellers, but a reminder the industry needed to work hard to ensure there was enough demand to fill seats on new flights added by all major airlines.
"If we don't create the demand we'll lose them," Mr Martin said.
Tiger Airways has flights to and from Melbourne from December 14 to 18 on sale for $39.95. Earlier this week the budget airline dropped its flight prices to as low as $29.95 in the lead up to Christmas.
At a time when the cost of flights traditionally skyrocket because of demand, fares in and out of Tasmania have remained the same and, in some cases, even dropped.
In September the cheapest fares for December flights to and from Melbourne were advertised at $59.
Yesterday, flights were available for $39.95.
Mr Martin said this time last year flights were hard to find and came with a price tag of at least $400.
He said it showed the need for the Government's recently announced $1 million boost for tourism marketing to lure more people to Tasmania.
"The concern is about making sure that flights are full," he said.
"The hope was that we could increase the flights in a sustainable way."
Mr Martin echoed warnings from Qantas boss Alan Joyce, Tiger and Jetstar, who have said the extra flights will be pulled if they are not used.
A Jetstar spokesman said the airline still had flights to Melbourne for $59 in the week before Christmas and $79 flights to Sydney.
"Tasmania is an incredibly popular tourism destination and the response to the extra flights we added earlier in the year has been really encouraging," he said.
"[But] like all airlines, we continually assess demand on the routes we fly to."
A Tiger spokeswoman urged Tasmanians to plan ahead and book early if they wanted to secure cheap flights.
Local travel agencies, such as Flight Centre in Devonport, said the cheap flights had been good news for travellers.
hannah.martin@news.com.au
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On Easter many families in UK booked flights to islamabad to pass holidays with their whole family and friends in Pakistan.
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