But the news that Qantas will operate a daily service between Melbourne and Burnie from June 21 has received a lukewarm response from the chamber of commerce.

Announcing the return of the route, QantasLink CEO John Gissing said the move reflected a "growing demand for travel within Australia".

But Business Northwest's tourism spokesman Justin McErlain said that while the move may bring more competitive pricing to the Coast, "the question will be how long they stay".

"The airline industry is a highly competitive marketplace," he said.

"[Qantas] left 15 years ago and they haven't come back, and now they are coming back while obviously there is some competition.

"We need to know if they are in it for the long haul or not."

Mr McErlain said Qantas's move will put "immense pressure" on Rex Airlines, which is currently the only carrier on the Burnie to Melbourne route, as it works to expand its operations to become a national carrier.

He said it could just be a competitive move by Qantas to quash its competition in the domestic market.

"We don't want to end up in six months without an airline," he said.

"That's just the competitive nature of the airline market."

However, from a tourism perspective, Mr McErlain said he welcomed the move as he believed QantasLink will be targeting tourists and Rex would maintain the corporate and business travel market.

"As we know at the moment there is pent up demand for travel to Tasmania.

"Tasmania is a hot destination so from a tourism point of view it is good to help with demand and help with the shoulder season.

"Bringing extra people into the state is a positive."

He said the news will give the North-West an opportunity to leverage off airline capacity to benefit the accommodation, retail and hospitality sectors.

And, he said, North-West residents will have better opportunities to fly to Melbourne for a weekend.

The flights are available at what Qantas said was a "special fare" of $125 one-way until May 9 or sold out.

"Tasmania has been popular with our customers since travel restrictions started to ease last year and these new flights will make it easier for travellers," Mr Gissing said.