25 March 2003 BASS STRAIT VESSEL SHOWCASED TO LEADING MELBOURNE MEDIA More than 40 Melbourne based lifestyle, travel and news media attended a special celebratory luncheon at the TT-Line Melbourne terminal to celebrate the success of the new Spirit of Tasmania vessels. Spirit of Tasmania, Manager Corporate Communications Simone Ferrier said the lunch was the largest media educational event ever undertaken for the media to showcase the new vessels. " The response to date from the mainland media has been excellent, not only in the large amount of positive media coverage received but also in their feedback of the vessels," she said. " This sort of activity is very important as it exposes key media to Tasmania and also introduces them to sea travel as a viable alternative to air travel." Ms Ferrier said the familiarisation was a key part of the company's ongoing Spirit of Tasmania public relations program, which is designed to build awareness and support for the new ships throughout the media. " Guided tours of Spirit of Tasmania I were offered and the Captain and Chief Engineer were on hand to provide an insight into the operations of the vessels. Promoting Tasmania to potential tourists is so much easier when the media have experienced the vessels for themselves," she said. Last month Spirit of Tasmania announced record bookings for the new vessels. More than 50 additional daylight sailings have been scheduled to provide capacity for an extra 50,000 passengers to travel across Bass Strait since the service commenced in September 2002. ends For further information contact: Simone Ferrier Manager Corporate Communications Spirit of Tasmania Telephone: 03 9206 6220 or 0417 540 583