The Bicheno Food and Wine Festival has kicked off Tasmania’s summer events season with a bang, attracting thousands of people to the east coast.
The festival, which sold out weeks in advance, is showcasing the region’s world-class food and beverage offerings with 33 local food and drink stalls.
Glamorgan-Spring Bay Deputy Mayor Mike Symons said over 3,000 people have flocked to the area for the event, boosting the local economy by an estimated $700,000.
“We’re at capacity with our ticket sales to this venue,” he said.
“The events come back to what it was before [the] pandemic. And we think what we will do is we’ll just try and make our offering better each year.”
Events Minister Nick Duigan announced $70,000 in funding to support this year’s event and secure the 2025 and 2026 editions.
“We know how important our event schedule is to bringing people into the regions, to attracting visitors to Tasmania, but also dispersing those visitors,” he said.
“This event showcases the really high-quality food, wine and beverage offering here on the east coast of Tasmania, which as a region stands, really on its own two feet.”
In addition to the Bicheno festival, the state government has also pledged support for several other major events in northern Tasmania.
This includes $1.285 million for three Festivale events from 2025 to 2027 and $150,000 for Launceston’s BeerFest from 2024 to 2026.
The Australian Rally Championship will also return to Tasmania for one round each year from 2025 to 2027 with a total investment of $300,000.
“It’s safe to say the Tasmanian events calendar is looking strong for 2025 and beyond,” Duigan said.
