Cancellation of Dark Mofo understood, but expected to ‘severely damage’ economy

It’ll be the Winter of Discontent this year following the cancellation of Dark Mofo, with the tourism industry bracing for the severe impact it will make on the state.

MAJOR tourism bodies are attempting to help mitigate the impact of losing Dark Mofo amid uncertain times within the industry.

However, it seems nothing will be able to fill the void the controversial winter solstice festival will leave.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said while the reasoning behind the cancellation was understood within the industry, there was no denying the impact it would have on the already challenging conditions for tourism in the state.

WHAT OTHER BIG EVENTS COULD BE UNDER FIRE?

“Until now, Tasmanian tourism’s exposure to the coronavirus travel ban has been relatively isolated to a small group of tourism operators who specialise in the China inbound market,” he said.

“But Dark Mofo is our largest drawcard over the winter months and has a big positive impact on visitation across Tasmania in June. It is going to severely impact our visitor economy over the depth of winter.”

ADVANTAGE IS A BETTER SOLDIER THAN RASHNESS: DAVID WALSH

Luke Martin, Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania said the cancellation was sad but necessary. Picture: MATT THOMPSON

He said now the challenge would be how to work through the problem and “stem the bleeding” over the winter months.

“We’re still seeing really strong numbers on our planes and on the ships coming into the state, but when you have that kind of major stimulus event removed, and obviously a lot of people who would be planning for a busy June to finish their financial year out ... there’s nothing to replace Dark Mofo.”

Mr Martin said they would be having discussions with Tourism Tasmania and the state government about potential steps they could take to mitigate the impact, however it was difficult to make alternative plans with coronavirus making things so uncertain.

CANCELLATION WILL ENSURE FESTIVAL’S LONG TERM SURVIVAL

Warren Ellis and the Dirty Three Photo Credit: Dark Mofo/Rémi Chauvin, 2019 Image Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

“These are now the most uncertain times tourism in Australia has faced since the pilot strike of the early 90s,” he said.

Airbnb Australia head of public policy Derek Nolan said they were sad to see the cancellation of one of Australia’s most exciting events.

“It’s always such a unique celebration that brings people from all over Australia and the world to Tasmania, and really highlights how the state is on the cutting edge of culture,” he said.

“We know this announcement compounds an already significant challenge for Tasmanian tourism and we’re really keen to keep working with the government and local tourism bodies to see how we can best support their efforts.”

GALLERY: BEST PHOTOS OF DARK MOFO 2019

Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief operating officer Colleen Reardon said the chamber was committed to working with the government to ensure the challenges associated with the virus could be responded to.

“This is a clear sign of the challenges that we are facing due to coronavirus,” she said.

Intrepid Travel managing director Sarah Clark said she was sad to hear about the cancellation, and that the situation within the tourism industry globally was “unprecedented”.

“We haven’t necessarily dealt with this situation before,” she said.

[e-mail]