Hobart's Dark Mofo festival has been cancelled for next year due to rising costs. The popular winter festival draws thousands of visitors to Tasmania during the quieter months offering an important boost for tourism operators.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 I think for many years we know that running big events like this come as a big burden
00:07 on people's shoulders. But yeah, look, of course, we've got quite a lot of disappointment
00:11 today and that's really only because this festival is so loved by not only visitors
00:16 by Tasmanians, but really the most important thing for us is that Dark MoFo remains a staple
00:22 of winter for decades to come. And so if that means that it has to, that the organisers
00:26 have to take a year off, consolidate, look at how they can deliver it sustainably into
00:31 the future, then we support that 100%. But of course, we love this festival and it's
00:37 a quintessential part of Tassie and we can't wait to have it back.
00:41 So organisers say some events will still go ahead, such as the Winterfest and the nude
00:46 Solstice Swim. Will this be enough to attract some visitors?
00:49 Well, look, those two events are very important and we do welcome that they're still going
00:54 ahead. The Feast is a big event and if anyone's been down to Tassie, they'll know that it
00:59 just thrives in the middle of Salamanca in winter. It's cosy, there's fires. It's a showcase
01:05 of amazing Tassie produce. So we're really keen and happy that that's still continuing
01:10 and that does get a really strong visitation from interstate. And of course, the swim,
01:15 you know, that's taken on a bit of a cult following and it's really important that that's
01:19 continuing. But of course, it's not the broader festival and that broader festival, which
01:24 is that focus on art and installations did bring a broader crowd. So what we're needing
01:30 to do and wanting to do is work with government on how do we offset any impact. And there's
01:35 a number of things that we think we can be doing there.
01:38 So this event, of course, happens during winter. What is tourism typically like during these
01:42 colder months and just how important is this event to the tourism industry?
01:47 Well, over recent years, we've really tried to promote ourselves and cement ourselves
01:52 as a leading destination in winter. We see ourselves as this getaway to be warm, to be
01:58 cosy, and it's working really well. But as we go into summer, we get lots of visitors.
02:06 As we go into winter, we need to smooth out and become smooth out that seasonality. So
02:10 winter is really important to us in events like Dark Mofo play such an important role.
02:16 So what we want to do is work with government and look at our existing events. Is there
02:19 any way that we can expand those? Can we attract new events to Tassie? And how do we work with
02:25 airlines through tourism Tasmania to get more people interested in coming to Tassie and
02:30 get in front of everyone on the mainland and say, come down to Tassie because it really
02:33 is special and there's lots to do in winter.
02:37 Organisers are calling this kind of a period of renewal and a time to face rising costs.
02:42 Is there a bit of a result of a breakdown between talks between organisers and the state
02:46 government in terms of funding?
02:47 Look, no, I don't think so. The organisers are saying that they have had really productive
02:52 conversations with government and government has come to the party to ensure that these
02:56 two remaining events occur. I think this is really a decision from the organisers. They've
03:01 had a decade worth of events. They really want to make sure that it stays on brand and
03:06 that continues to live up to its reputation. And that's a decision that's been made by
03:11 them. But I think what we're saying as an industry is that government does need to step
03:15 up to the plate, work with us. And I know the premier has been out today and is keen
03:20 to do that to ensure that we really work hard to get visitors here in winter because we're
03:25 going to need to work harder. Dark mofo obviously generated a lot of demand. So we want to work
03:31 with government, look at what events we can have, what we already have and what more do
03:36 we need to do to get more people travelling to Tassie in winter.
03:39 So dark mofo is the main draw card during the winter months. Is this maybe a chance
03:45 for a new event to come forward?
03:47 Well, look, absolutely. I think what I've been talking about today is this may lead
03:52 to more innovation. I think that, you know, bright sparks out there will be looking at
03:57 what Tassie is and what it has to offer. And it may lead to some really innovative ideas.
04:01 And that's what we want to see. And I think we're really good at that here in Tassie.
04:04 We come up with innovative ideas that are quintessentially on brand, quintessentially
04:09 Tasmanian. So that's the work we have to do between now and winter to look at what
04:13 different events can we come up with to draw people down here. And I think there'll be
04:19 some great minds thinking about that in the next few weeks.
04:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]