No room at the inn in Hobart ahead of Regatta Day long weekend
Securing last-minute accommodation in Hobart over the long weekend will come at cost, with hotels charging premium prices for basic rooms.
Tasmania
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TENS of thousands of visitors will converge on Hobart each day over the upcoming long weekend, with tourism industry leaders urging them not to forget the regions.
As many regional parts of Tasmania continue to battle bushfires, Hobart is almost fully booked for the action-packed three-day weekend which will feature the Royal Hobart Regatta, the Australian Wooden Boat Festival and the Hobart Cup Carnival.
Accommodation websites Booking.com and Wotif show occupancy rates of 95 per cent, as of Tuesday afternoon, for Hobart over the long weekend.
The few remaining rooms were available at a premium price.
Corporate affairs general manager Daniel Hanna said Federal Group’s various accommodation offerings were full to the brim.
“We may be able to squeeze a couple of people in on Sunday night at Wrest Point, but all Federal Group properties including Saffire, the Henry Jones Art Hotel, MACq01 and Wrest Point are effectively full this weekend,” he said.
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Tasracing interim chief executive officer Alicia Fuller said more than 7000 people were expected to flock to Hobart Cup Day on Sunday.
“Hobart Cup weekend attracts local and interstate racing fans, trainers and owners,” she said.
“This year one of the world’s biggest racing stables Godolphin, owned by Sheikh Mohammed — Ruler of Dubai, is sending a contingent to Hobart to race their James Cummings trained Cossetot on Friday at Elwick.”
Now in its 181st year, the Royal Hobart Regatta is also expected to attract tens of thousands of patrons to the Derwent foreshore.
Destination Southern Tasmania chief executive Alex Heroys said the events-based weekend would deliver strong economic growth for Hobart.
“This long weekend gives Tasmania a chance to show the rest of the country that despite the bushfires we’re still open for business and we have lots of offer outside of Hobart as well,” he said.
“We’re expecting for the wooden boat festival around 50,000 visitors a day and about 200,000 across the four days.
“We’d encourage those visitors to disperse further out of the city — Franklin has a great connection to the event as its home to the Wooden Boat Centre.”
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said in the state current context it was important to encourage tourists to also head out of the city to support regional areas.
“Hobart’s CBD is going to be packed, but our outlying areas still have good availability — if people are looking for a good option, they need only look a bit further out,” he said.
People considering visiting fire-affected regions should check up to date road closures at www.police.tas.gov.au/community-alerts/
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