Accommodation provider reports 'worst year' after Fun4Kids demise

The five-day festival, previously held in the term two school holidays, drew families from across Australia.

Despite repeated attempts by Warrnambool City Council to make the festival sustainable, it was cancelled after the 19^th event.

The Standard spoke to accommodation providers who reported a quieter winter holiday period compared with last year.

Some noted visiting families were staying for one to two nights this year, rather than four or five nights during the festival, while others commented the city seemed quieter.

Warrnambool Holiday Park owner Steve Moore said he welcomed festival regulars back annually but business was bleak this year.

“It’s bloody terrible,” he said.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever seen it. I’ve been here 11 years and this is the first without Fun4Kids. We’re just not getting inquiries. All we can do is soldier on.

“There’s the whale season but you can’t rely on the whales. If the whales are in it’s a bonus. There needs to be more activities for people to do. There needs to be more to attract people here.” 

Blue Whale Motel and Apartments owner Graeme Soulsby said it was a little bit quieter.

 “I think there’s a few people who have rolled up to see the whales that don’t seem to be here,” Mr Soulsby said. 

“We’re getting more one or two night stays but it doesn’t compensate for the four or five night stays we used to have when Fun4Kids was on that we could rely on.”

Mr Soulsby wants the city promoted more.

“The Warrnambool Tourism Association’s now folded, it was a toothless tiger, it never really did anything so it’s a bit frustrating,” he said.

“Groups that have been put there to develop tourism seem to be hamstrung and don’t seem to be able to do anything.”

Figtree Holiday Park manager Nicole Campbell said bookings were “quite good, quite steady” due to new online specials they’d introduced.

Lady Bay Resort manager Lydia Kippe said bookings were slightly down.

While she acknowledged Fun4Kids reservations had declined in recent years, she’s disappointed there isn’t anything “to offer or entice tourists to come to Warrnambool”.

Miss Kippe wants to see the city promoted statewide as “a winter destination” which “worked for others when it’s freezing cold”.

Eight Spence owner Sommer Jones has had the business for nine months. “I’m not sure what it was like last year but we’re pretty quiet at the moment,” Mrs Jones said. 

The Cally Hotel publican Lucas Reid said he was booked out this week with visiting contractors and would normally get about 10 room nights from the festival.

Elm Tree Motel owner David Sargent said his business attracted corporate guests but had some festival flow on.

“Generally speaking it’s been a bit quieter since the May Races compared to last year, but it’s a good average,” he said. “Last year was exceptional.” 

Warrnambool Discovery Park receptionist Stephanie Windridge said they were “about the same” but instead of having booking weeks in advance, families were now booking days ahead.

“We do have a lot of people asking what there is to do in bad weather and there’s not much,” she said. 

“If we could bring something back into Warrnambool that would be great.”

Langley’s Port Fairy Accommodation Booking Service’s Jamie Langley said all its seven Warrnambool houses were vacant which was “unheard of”.

He says the city isn’t marketed well enough and more needs to be done. “I know the local attractions and restaurants to send people to but if they’re not here in the first place I can’t do it.” 

Best Western Olde Maritime owner Raj Patel said all reservations and average room rates were down. 

Fun4Kids Festival ‘a unique gem in age of technology’

Long-time Fun4Kids Festival visitors have expressed their “profound disappointment” over its cancellation, delivering letters to the Warnambool council on Friday, urging them to rethink the decision.

The “strong supporters” have attended the event for the past 14 years and said it brought them together “to enjoy art, performance, music, games and so much fun”.

Katy Condliffe and her three sisters from Kyneton and Castlemaine, their mum and their 10 children attended regularly.

The group expanded to more than 20 members and included cousins and friends from Bendigo, Echuca and Melton.

Ms Condliffe said her niece Marlee Kebede, 9, asked who she could write to. In her letter Marlee said: “We are all so so very sad. On behalf (of) everyone we really want to be at Fun4Kids so badly. It is a bit boring.” 

Her sister Angela Healy thanked the council for the “years of joy and happiness” and said “with all your community groups and businesses you created something magical and wonderful memories”.

As their accommodation had already been booked, they returned this year for their family holiday and hand delivered the letters to the council.

Ms Kebede said they would not “be back anytime soon”. “That’s 17 people who will not be spending money in your shire,” she said. “Good luck to your town.”

Ms Condliffe said: “We are honestly devastated. We loved the festival and I don’t know what will fill the gap. It was our favourite time of year and the children talk about it year-long. 

“Beyond the great times we had, the festival taught us the value of volunteers (our older children volunteered), of community, of alternative entertainment and the value of family. 

“In an age of technology this was a unique gem we can’t believe Warrnambool has let go.”

Whales ‘better than any event’

A slow start to the whale season is to blame for the city’s lack of tourists, says the council.

Warrnambool City Council manager visitor economy David McMahon attributed the quiet start to the school holidays to a lack of southern right whales, but expects the city’s accommodation figures to be similar to last year’s, despite there being no Fun4Kids Festival this year. 

“We don’t have any figures yet but typically we would expect around 5000-7000 bed nights across the school holidays,” Mr McMahon said.

“We would think that we’re on track to be on par with last year. The whole reason we ceased Fun4Kids was it wasn’t delivering the overnight stays.”

In February Warrnambool mayor Robert Anderson said after 19 years the festival would not go ahead in 2018 due to decreasing crowd numbers and growing financial concerns.

The controversial festival was shortened last year from seven days to five in an attempt to make the event sustainable. Its viability was reviewed in 2014 when a sharp fall in attendances resulted in a $593,000 loss.“Council’s made the decision to cease Fun4Kids because the direct economic impact of that event was waning and that investment of more than $450,000 was for one event on one week,” Mr McMahon said. 

“With our new event strategy it is being reinvested over the coming years to make sure we’ve got the right mix of events across the year. The industry was supportive of that.”

He said while there would be “some visitation loss” from the Fun4Kids decision, the 2018-2022 event strategy, launched in May, would spread the investment across various events with the view that “visitation (to the city) would grow exponentially”.

Earlier this week Mr McMahon said accommodation providers he’d spoken to had cited “the low whale season as the predominant factor in a quiet start to the school holidays” but expected the next week to be busier.

He said there was “lots to still see and do” for families with Flagstaff Hill’s Little Winter and activities at the art gallery. 

Warrnambool City Council is also promoting a winter whale trail with Portland and Port Fairy. 

Mr McMahon said the birth of a calf to resident southern right whale ‘Odd Lips’ had the power to turn it around.  “Once there’s a confirmed whale siting and a calf is born it’s amazing once news breaks,” he said. “I’m told by operators who have been in the industry for 30 or 40 years that a whale calf is better than any event.”

Mr McMahon said the whales “have always been the hook” and were “a key driver to visitation in the winter school holidays”. 

“(Warrnambool) is just renowned for it.”