Glenorchy City Council has unanimously approved a $150 million chocolate tourist attraction at the historic Cadbury factory site in Claremont, clearing the way for what backers say will be a game-changer for Tasmanian tourism.
The council voted on Monday evening to green-light the Chocolate Experience at Cadbury, which is forecast to draw 431,000 visitors a year and pump more than $120 million into the state’s economy annually.
The project is expected to support more than 300 construction jobs and over 200 ongoing roles.
Glenorchy Mayor Sue Hickey said the council, sitting as the planning authority, had approved the development subject to a number of conditions.
“This project represents both a major investment at both the Cadbury facility and in the Glenorchy municipal area, as well as a huge show of confidence in our city’s ability to host world-class tourist attractions,” she said.
“Alongside MONA, the Chocolate Experience will undoubtedly be a major tourism drawcard, generating economic activity during both construction and through increased visitor numbers in the longer term,” she said.
Hickey noted Cadbury’s old visitor centre closed a decade ago and said she had “absolutely no doubt this will become a tremendous tourism destination in its own right.”
The project’s backers described it as a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
“From the moment visitors arrive, this will be unlike any chocolate attraction in the world,” proponent Simon Currant said.
He called it an “innovative, immersive and deeply emotive experience that uses storytelling and technology to bring the magic of chocolate-making to life.”
Tourism Industry Council Tasmania CEO Amy Hills said the state needed to keep investing to stay competitive.
“This is a next-level concept that is going to make Tasmania the must-do destination that it deserves to be,” Hills said.
“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tell the Cadbury story properly and authentically, and it will lift the whole industry with it,” she said.
Toby Smith, president of Mondelēz International for Japan, Australia and New Zealand, said Cadbury was proud to support the project as brand partner.
“Cadbury’s story and Tasmania’s story have been intertwined for more than a century and this project will bring that story to life for hundreds of thousands of visitors every year,” Smith said.
Melbourne-based investment bank Kidder Williams is raising capital for the project, with 95% of the cost to be privately funded.
Construction is due to be finished by September 2028.
