As if we needed another excuse to "make ourselves at home", the announcement from the state government regarding a fresh round of travel vouchers is welcome news.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But considering the confusion and disappointment felt by many who missed out on last year's scheme - let's hope this time around it's a bit better thought out.
The government says an estimated $27.5 million in additional spending was generated across the state under the inaugural scheme. There's no doubt that countless small businesses and families were better off with some assistance.
That said, the scheme was still plagued with issues.
With the goal of offering vouchers for accommodation and tourism experiences in the state, when launched in late September last year it only took minutes before the website to register for travel vouchers crashed.
The 1800 phone number connected to the scheme had a message saying "due to temporary service difficulties we are unable to connect your call at this time". Then, less than an hour after registrations opened, all vouchers had been accounted for.
There was some hope for those who missed out though, with a second round of vouchers worth $5 million soon released. However, in January this year, we learnt just over half of the $12.5 million in total that was dedicated to the scheme had been spent, with about 26,500 redemptions, worth $6.6 million.
On average, people had spent $3 to every travel voucher dollar. It was a number stakeholders, such as the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania, said was on par with similar initiatives adopted by other states.
They also said the value of redemptions was not necessarily a reflection of the number of vouchers redeemed.
Still, there would have been a lot who missed out that would have been disappointed to learn those who scored a voucher - didn't necessarily use it.
This time around the government says the application process will be different, opting for a pre-registered lottery type system.
Instead of it being first in best dressed, it seems like it will come down to luck for who will be successful in securing a voucher. Details are still be hashed out, including voucher amounts, but what we do know is this will undoubtedly offer those in Tasmania's tourism and hospitality sector some form of relief.
The situation interstate is showing no signs of improving. So while we might have all hoped to have been in a better position than we were this time 12 months ago, if we can't leave Tasmania we might as may as well make the most of it.
Our small businesses, in particular, are relying on us.