INDUSTRY FEATURE: TOUR OF TASMANIA
Over the past three months the THA team has been out around Tasmania visiting venues on our Tour of Tasmania. These trips were supported by the Tasmanian Government and have been a great opportunity to hear what is affecting the people, venues and regions across the state. We were fortunate enough to be joined on different legs by corporate partners and key stakeholders, such as the Department of State Growth. We heard what receiving grants meant for venues, how they utilised the monies or how painful it was not to receive grants if they fell just outside the criteria. Our corporate partners were able to offer services and pricing to venues to help ease some of the burden, such as Shop Tasmania, who are providing 12 months free subscription to their website to help venues promote their business.
While each region is different, and we still have King and Flinders Island to visit in the New Year, what we have found is the main challenges affecting all regions are similar. • a lack of staff (and skilled staff/trained staff) • the rising cost of insurance or challenges to find insurance • a lack of patrons (locals and tourists) • challenges of poor or no internet and phone coverage In addition to the main challenges, there were more specific issues facing certain venues and areas. These trips were a great insight into the obstacles they face every day, providing THA staff with the opportunity to witness them first-hand in their venues. Having the right people on these trips also meant many challenges were able to be discussed or addressed on the spot, which was a welcome relief for operators. We are using this information to build support programs, seek assistance from government, and request additional help from corporate partners for industry.
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