Global visitors dock into Burnie and travel to North-West's best spots

The Coral Princess docked at the port at 5.30am, bringing with it 1800 tourists.

Two of the passengers on board were Barbara and Lou Arthur, who had travelled from Colorado in the United States.

Despite only just arriving in Burnie, the couple were impressed with what they had seen.

"The people are friendly," Mr Arthur said.

"It is so fresh and it doesn't look old and beat up," Mrs Arthur said.

"It's so clean," Mr Arthur said.

"You're obviously proud of your city and it shows."

While many tourists come to see the attractions, the Arthurs have two traditions they like to tick off at each place they visit.

"Our son is a firefighter and he collects t-shirts and every time we travel we take a t-shirt from his firehouse with us to trade with somebody," Mr Arthur said.

"Fortunately, we ran into someone here from the volunteer fire department that was willing to trade a t-shirt and that is what we have been doing all morning so we haven't had a chance to walk around at all."

Mrs Arthur said the second tradition involved a supermarket.

"We like to go the grocery store and I know that sounds silly but when you go into a grocery store anywhere in the world, we try and find a can of tuna and a box of Cheerios," she said.

"The size of the showcase of Cheerios gives you an idea of how the community works because Cheerios are the same wherever you go around the world."

Burnie deputy mayor Giovanna Simpson couldn't hide her excitement about the return of cruise ships.

"People have been saying how welcome they have felt," she said.

"They love being welcomed by the mayor or deputy mayor and we love having them as their benefitting Burnie in so many ways."

Despite concerns about COVID spreading throughout the community, Cr Simpson said the ship's protocols meant it was "safer than going to a rock concert".

"The city of Burnie is alive and well," she said.

"Everyone was keen to get off the ship and get to Burnie and they have been very excited.

"I can't praise the safety measures anymore."

Business Northwest president Ian Jones said it was great to have tourists returning to the region.

"We need this tourism, we need all kinds of tourism, but this is all part of the mix and it's great to have it back," he said.

"The general business community welcomes them back as they make a real difference to our retail economy."