Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village boss Andy Stuart says region ‘forgotten’ in West Coast tourism incentive

A Cradle Mountain resort operator says businesses in the tourism hotspot are being “forgotten” and “brushed-off” in a $300k incentive to boost travel on the state’s West Coast.

Andy Stuart, Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village general manager. Picture: Supplied

A Cradle Mountain resort operator says businesses in the tourism hotspot are being “forgotten” and “brushed-off” in a $300k incentive to boost travel on the state’s West Coast.

The state government-funded sweetener, which forms part of a $1m support package during the temporary closure of the West Coast Wilderness Railway, allows businesses to offer discounted travel from August to October.

Applications for the program are open Monday to eligible businesses.

Cradle Mountain. Picture: Jason Charles Hill/Tourism Tasmania

But given Cradle Mountain falls outside of the allocated postcodes, Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village boss Andy Stuart says operators on the mountain are being “forgotten” – and that the region is “the gateway to the best the West Coast has to offer”.

He said the allocated postcodes for the incentive were “just 6km from Cradle Mountain.”

“Cradle Mountain is the key destination point for travellers who then make day trips into Queenstown, Tulla, Waratah, Savage River, Rosebery et cetera,” he said.

“The businesses on the mountain – six major accommodation venues – are witnessing a serious downturn in numbers due in no small part to the closure of the railway.”

“The wild, wet winter we also experience hinders visitor numbers. Given that Cradle Mountain sits 6km outside of the postcode exclusion range, and there is nothing within 40 km of the internal line of exclusion that is a business that could benefit from this, we find it ludicrous the government is stating they are promoting tourism in the region.”

Mr Stuart showed the Mercury correspondence with the Department of State Growth, asking why Cradle Mountain was overlooked for the voucher deal.

A Program Officer from the department told Mr Stuart the program was strictly “targeted” for businesses on the West Coast.

Cradle Mountain Wilderness Village's cosy, family friendly chalets are a perfect base to explore Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair region. Picture SUPPLIED by CMWV.

Mr Stuart was then told his request for Cradle Mountain businesses to be included in the incentivised program would be passed along to the government’s grants team.

“Don’t get me wrong I think it is a fantastic incentive for West Coast businesses but I feel we have been brushed off a bit. Everyone think we (tourism operators) magically perform because there’s a big mountain up here,” Mr Stuart said.

A Rockliff government spokesperson said: “The incentive is specially targeted to support those operators most affected by the temporary shutdown of the West Coast Wilderness Railway while it undergoes major upgrades.

“However, we also continue to focus on driving visitation to all areas, including Cradle Mountain, with Tourism Tasmania’s Off Season campaign continuing to be delivered in key domestic markets,” the spokesperson said.

Adam Barnett, who recently took the helm of the NRMA-owned Cradle Mountain Hotel, said bookings were at capacity despite the off-season.

A number of Cradle Mountain operators were contacted by The Mercury, with some declining to comment.