Dark Mofo boosts bookings for city hotels and retaurants

HOBART hotel and restaurant owners are celebrating a boost in winter trade because of the Dark Mofo festival.

Montacute Boutique Bunkhouse owners Antony Langdon, left, and Rose Flynn are booked out d

HOBART hotel and restaurant owners are celebrating a boost in winter trade because of the Dark Mofo festival.

Destination Southern Tasmania spokeswoman Karen Fraser said Dark Mofo was giving many operators a much-needed lift at a traditionally quiet time.

Rose Flynn, owner of recently opened Montacute Bunkhouse, said accommodation was fully booked three weekends in a row.

Guests were coming from Sydney and Melbourne for the festival, including one couple who had booked for 10 days.

“To have three weekends in a row booked out in the middle of winter, for a business that’s only been open two months, is just absolutely brilliant,” she said.

There were still plenty of hotel rooms in Hobart available during the festival on popular booking sites such as Wotif yesterday, including Mona Pavilions, starting at $410 a night.

Mona Pavialion’s three-level, two-bed “Roy” suite was available for a single night for $950.

Salamanca Wharf Hotel had rooms from $195 per night and rooms at the Henry Jones Art Hotel were available from $220.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said while only a few places were fully booked, most were experiencing a better than normal off season and hadn’t needed to significantly slash rates.

He said the “MONA-factor” ensured Dark Mofo would be a success, despite past winter festivals like Lumina failing to live up to expectations.

“MONA has captured people’s imagination,” he said. “They’ve seen the quirkiness, so they know they’re in for something special if they come down for Dark Mofo.

“Then you’ve got Festival of Voices, which is totally different, but it’s an event people want to travel to and participate in, and you can put it in the middle of winter and it’s not a disincentive to participate, in fact it’s part of the appeal.”

Hotels and restaurants aren’t the only ones expecting a boost in business, with cab drivers also hoping to pick up a few extra fares.

Yellow Cabs Tasmania managing director Roger Burdon said the popularity of the inaugural Dark Mofo last year caught many drivers by surprise.

“We’re hoping it’s the same again this year,” he said. “It’s a little bit of an influx in income.”

A taxi rank will operate in Murray St, up from the Customs House Hotel, during the festival.

It’s hoped attendance at this year’s Dark Mofo will top last year’s 128,000, including more than 2500 interstate and international visitors.

The festival is expected to inject about $20 million into the local economy.