Influx of tourists for BASSINTHEGRASS a huge boost for local businesses hit hard by COVID

It’s set to be another big weekend in Darwin as business booms and the city buzzes from the thousands of tourists in town for BASSINTHEGRASS.

Festivalgoers at BASSINTHEGRASS 2019. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

IT’S set to be another big weekend in Darwin.

After a two-year break, major music festival BASSINTHEGRASS is returning on Saturday and the event has drawn thousands of tourists to the Top End to catch some of Australia’s hottest acts live in concert.

About 14,000 people are expected to attend the festival this year and, of those, a huge 8000 have come from interstate.

Visitors have no doubt been lured by the chance to enjoy the kind of large-scale event still a long way off in most parts of Australia, as well as Darwin’s warm and sunny weather and lack of COVID-19 community spread.

The impact on businesses has been remarkable.

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Youth Shack Backpackers manager Nikki Moss says hostels across Darwin are at capacity, while Hospitality NT chief executive Alex Bruce says hotels are reporting better numbers than the same time two years ago.

The tourist influx is also benefiting restaurants, cafes and bars, which are doing a roaring trade.

And it comes just a few weeks after music festival PURE 2021, headlined by internationally renowned DJ Carl Cox, also drew thousands of interstate travellers to Darwin.

The rush of tourists in town is great news for NT hospitality and tourism businesses. It will be even better if some of our new visitors can be convinced to either stay in the NT or take up jobs to help address workforce shortages.

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