WARRNAMBOOL accommodation operators fear a big slump in mid-winter tourism if the Fun4Kids Festival is scrapped in the face of cost blowout and declining patronage.
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“It would be an absolute tragedy if was lost,” Warrnambool Tourism Association secretary Diane Parker told The Standard yesterday after revelations this year’s festival posted a $593,000 loss.
“You can’t just chop it off.
“If Warrnambool doesn’t keep it other centres will pick up the festival.”
Other operators echoed her concern that an important contributor to the local economy could be lost.
Warrnambool City Council will hold a special workshop next Thursday to consider options for the event which has been running 16 years during winter school holidays and has been acclaimed at Australia’s best children’s festival.
Councillors will later vote on the future steps at an open meeting, either on November 3 or December 1.
A briefing paper distributed to councillors on Monday night showed the 19,500 attendance number this year was down 3000 on last year and 6000 on 2012’s figure.
The biggest patronage decline was from the local region, within an hour of Warrnambool, with numbers in that sector down 4500 on last year.
Total expenditure was $1.15 million but revenue came in at $557,000, leaving the council with an extra $193,000 above its annual $400,000 underwriting contribution.
Ticket sales yielded $380,000 compared with $506,000 in 2012.
The issue has generated widespread community debate with opinions ranging from total axing to a radical review of the program and costs.
Ms Parker said the festival had provided years of direct benefits to accommodation and hospitality operators and spin-offs to the wider community.
Last year’s event was calculated by council officers to contribute $1.9m to the local economy. Ms Parker considered the loss blowout as a symptom of a general economic downturn where people were more cautious in their spending.
“In the early years festival patrons were buying eight-day tickets, now they come for shorter stays of one to four days,” Ms Parker said.
“If the council can prop up AquaZone why can’t it prop up a festival that is such a good drawcard for Warrnambool?”
Jon Watson, who operates the Lady Bay apartments and Pavilion café, said the festival week produced an influx equivalent to the busy May racing carnival.
“It’s a huge boost for what is traditionally a very slow season,” he said.
“Councillors need to look at what it injects into the local economy.”
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