Hobart Hotels
Hobart with its population of just 250,000 is small in comparison to Syndey or Melbourne, but this Australian city is the economic and cultural heart of the state of Tasmania, a 68,400 square kilometer island that lies off the southern shore of the Australia. This island is a vast and impressive tourist attraction in Australia’s diverse collection, it is just over half the size of the United Kingdom and yet is home to just 500,000 people. This reveals, rather starkly, the imminence of Hobart as the state’s major city.
While Tasmania is a famous Australian tourist spot, Hobart is slightly less well-known on the international scene, but the city is home to a range of attractions and landmarks in its own right, which make its hotel sector as developed and diverse as Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane’s hotels.
Battery Point
This area of the city is just behind Salamanca Market and is bathed in a warm golden glow, especially in the finals hours of the sun’s daily death when its rays reflect off the various buildings, which were built in the state’s infancy and now stands as august observers to the city’s development around them. The distinctive color of the buildings here is due to their construction in yesteryear from the state’s golden sandstone. A wonderful place to visit for a taste of history.
Salamanca Market
Tasmania was once a major hub for whaling before greater appreciation of animal rights and sustainable fishing led to the decline of the industry. A range of large sandstone warehouses stand as testament to this period in the state’s history and it is within these warehouses that the Salamanca Market is found. Various crafts shops, restaurants and food sellers have set up shop here and it is a major shopping hub for locals and tourists alike.
Botanical Gardens
Within fifteen minutes walk of Hobart’s city centre, the Botanical Gardens are a wonderfully relaxing and aesthetically pleasing experience. The gardens are also an institutions within themselves, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and is actively engaged in researching and developing information about climate change, environmental awareness and sustainable living initiatives aimed at keeping the world as beautiful as the gardens. The huge grounds are extremely diverse with over 22 different sections including sub-Antarctic plants in a refrigerated building.
The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and Maritime Museum of Tasmania are also interesting cultural components of any visit to Hobart while the area around the marketplace is littered with a number of small and large art galleries catering to every taste and genre.
For these reasons and many more Hobart is the center of tourism in Tasmania and is commonly used as a pit stop by tourists wishing to explore the wider Tasmanian region.
Hotel industry in Hobart
The hotel industry in Hobart is made up of over 100 hotels and bed and breakfasts and is an important pillar in the Australian hospitality industry.
Hobart Hotel news:
Hobart hotels among the most resilient in the world
As the world economy splutters in the wake of the financial crash, Hobart, with the rest of Australia has shown strength in the face of adversity and hotels in the city have reported increased occupancy rates, as well as revpar and average daily rates remaining steady throughout the year.
Figures for the end of 2009 show that revpar (revenue per available room) in Hobart increased a moderate but not inconsiderable 4.6% even as average daily rates (ADR) for the city’s hotels fell 0.5%. This was due in large part to greater efficiency by the hotels, finding ways to decrease budgets in a targeted manner through the recession.
Because the quality of the product was not effected, and due also the the reduced room rates, the hotels in Hobart, on average, were able to retain occupancies of 81%, a 4.1% increase compared to the beginning of 2009.
Hobart figures tempered by conference events
Considering that 2009 is widely regarded to have been the worst year of the downturn, future projections for 2010 are favorable, although concerns center around the fact that 2009’s hotel figures for Hobart were largely bolstered by a number of conferences that took place in the city throughout the year.
Among these were the 44th ASSID Conference, The National Conference for Teachers of English and Literacy, the FDC Conference 2009 as well as the Australian Small Animal Veterinary Association. A number of smaller associations, such as the National Men’s Shed Association also held events in the city.
However, a range of national, local and international groups and associations and companies have already announced or held events in the city this year, further emphasizing the versatility of the sector, as well as its MICE-capable range of hotels.
The CAUTHE 2010 Hobart Conference was held in February at the Grand Chancellor Hotel, while the Australian Medical Student Association also held a conference at the Plenary Hall in July and the Australian Facilitators Network is putting the final touches to the upcoming AFN Conference of 2010. The Australasian Microarray and Associated Technologies Association Conference will also take place in September, showing the strength of Hobart’s hotels at providing a range of MICE-oriented services.
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