Northern Tasmania needs more hotel rooms, bigger venues and a deeper pool of local event workers before it can chase major acts like the Foo Fighters, the head of Visit Northern Tasmania says.
Tracey Mallett was speaking in Launceston on Friday morning as she and Premier Jeremy Rockliff launched the Northern Events and Festivals Infrastructure Strategy.
The state government put $250,000 towards the strategy, which took a year to put together.
It sets out five recommendations, including opening up existing spaces, building new multi-function venues and creating a city events and festivals precinct.
“To look after the future, we really need to make sure that the infrastructure is there to meet all of the different types of events,” Mallett said.
She said that goes well beyond venues to catering, audio visual gear and air access.
Asked whether the North could land another event on the scale of the Foo Fighters, Mallett said there were not many suitable venues.
“There’s, you know, limited audio visual pro-providers, staging providers and catering suppliers,” she said.
Accommodation is another sticking point.
Mallett said four hotels have been approved, including a 179-room Fragrance Group build due to open by early 2028 and a 60-room Quest development about to break ground.
The Gorge Hotel is expected to start construction next year, while a project at the old TAFE building has stalled.
Together they would add around 400 to 500 rooms.
Mallett said business events are worth chasing because delegates spend between $300 and $700 a day, compared with around $260 for a recreational visitor.
Rockliff said events fill hotel rooms and support hospitality and retail businesses.
“We want to see more visitors staying longer, spending locally and experiencing everything the North has to offer,” he said.
He pointed to the government’s $10 million commitment to the Launceston Convention Centre.
Rockliff said the strategy followed the Northern Economic Summit in July, with a broader economic plan for the region due to be released soon.
Mallett said the North was outperforming parts of the mainland, where music events have been cancelled in New South Wales and Western Australia.
