New accommodation perched above Hobart

Hobart is now offering a unique luxury rooftop accommodation experience to visitors with the official opening of the Avalon City Retreat “Omnipod” today.

The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, today officially opened the first of the prefabricated units, located on top of a nine-story Hobart office building.

“The Omnipod project perfectly encapsulates the T-QUAL Grants and Tourism 2020 goal of increasing innovation within the Australian tourism industry,” Minister Ferguson said.

“The new unit is expected to accommodate about 900 people per year for high end travellers to enjoy a unique accommodation experience atop a 9 story building in Hobart’s CBD.

“This innovative project will also serve as a prototype for environmentally friendly, sustainable and portable accommodation across Australia.

Construction of the two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit cost $560,000 and was aided by a $110,000 T-QUAL Grant from the Australian Government.

The project’s T-QUAL Grant was awarded under the 2011 round of the program which invested $843,300 in Tasmania’s tourism industry.

The 2012 round allocated a further 12 grants, worth $958,320, to the state.

The Hobart region attracted more than $1.1 billion in expenditure and close to three million visitors in the 2011-12 financial year.

“Hobart is now firmly in the sights of domestic and international visitors and was ranked as the seventh best destination in the world to visit in Lonely Planet’s influential Best in Travel 2013 edition,” Minister Ferguson said.

“T-QUAL Grants and other commitments under the Australian Government’s Tourism 2020 strategy will allow local industry members to capitalise on this growth.”

More information on T-QUAL grants is available at www.ret.gov.au/tourism
 

Source: Accommodation Association of Australia, 15 February 2013