For caravan park operator Luke Emmett, the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries are on par with one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks.
"For me these boats are as big as the Opera House, for Tasmania," he said.
The two larger ferries will make their first Bass Strait sailings on Saturday after years of delays, a $717 million project budget blowout and a political resignation.
They're 40 per cent bigger than their predecessors and crucially for tourism operators like Mr Emmett can carry almost three times the amount of caravans and motorhomes.
"In the past we’ve always had trouble with ... limited space on the old boats," he said.
"On the whole it’s going to be fantastic, because we’ll have more vans on the island.
"As long as when they get here they’re fit for purpose. You look at the Opera House, that was years overdue."
The ferries made headlines for the wrong reasons in 2024 when it was revealed they would have to sit idle because a new berth in Tasmania wouldn't be ready in time for their completion.
The berth, originally slated to cost $90 million, had a final price tag of $493 million.
"During that period there was quite a lot of negative press and rightly so," Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Amy Hills said.
"What we really tried to do was get across the message that the existing Spirits were still in operation.
"Some people were getting erroneous ideas that they might not even be operating.
"Obviously it has been a long time in the making. It represents one of the biggest step-changes in access to our state in many decades."
The plan to replace the old Spirits was initially announced in 2017. They were supposed to arrive in 2021 at a cost of $714 million.
Tasmania's tourism economy brings in $3.7 billion per year, but Ms Hills said it was difficult to say how much the new Spirits would add.
It was also incumbent on governments to ensure other infrastructure, including roads, were up to scratch.
"We have done some prep work around caravan visitors, dump points and roads. But there is more to do," she said.
Port Arthur Holiday Park manager Josef Mierocha said the rise in capacity would allow people to be more flexible with their travel and not need to book as far in advance.
However, a halt in sailings for seven days in the lead-up to Saturday had caught some visitors out, he said.
Tasmania's government in May announced a $506 million bailout for state-owned ferry operator TT-Line, something Treasurer Eric Abetz said the budget could absorb.
