For the first time ever, Spirit of Tasmania III will be open to 6,000 Brisbane and Sydney residents at the conclusion of the ship�s �dry docking�.

As part of its new marketing campaign launch, Spirit of Tasmania will hold promotional days in Brisbane on 9 August and in Sydney on 12 & 13 August.

Travel agents and media will be treated to a lunch or breakfast on board and a tour of the ship, while local residents selected from Spirit of Tasmania�s consumer database will be treated to an exclusive walk-through of the vessel.

�The dry docking in Brisbane beginning at the end of this month has provided us with a rare opportunity to show the ship in southern Queensland and to conduct an open day in Sydney before resuming passenger sailings,� said Melindy Green, National Manager Passenger Sales and Marketing for Spirit of Tasmania.

�This is perfect timing as it will coincide with the launch of our new advertising campaign.

�And to promote the destination, we will have Tasmanian operators setting up stands at the consumer events, with over 25 Tourism Council Tasmania industry partners registering interest in having a presence in both Brisbane and Sydney.�

Spirit of Tasmania hopes to attract 1,000 consumers for the three hour �open evening� in Brisbane and 5,000 consumers for the six hour long open day in Sydney. Chief Executive Peter Simmons said with Spirit III bookings increasing, the promotional days would give the Sydney-Devonport service another valuable boost.

�Spirit of Tasmania III looks fantastic so having thousands of potential customers see it for themselves should motivate many of them to book with us,� said Mr Simmons.

Local branches of The Make-a-Wish Foundation will be collecting donations at the Brisbane and Sydney consumer events.

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For further information contact: Christina Koullas Corporate Communications Coordinator Tel: 03 9206 6220 czk@spiritoftasmania.com.au