Tourism Tasmania is looking interstate to give a much-needed boost to local businesses and operators this winter

The destination body launched its winter campaign, ‘The Off Season’, in Sydney last week with an immersive event showcasing the state’s producers and performers in Centennial Park.

The campaign calls on mainlanders to lose their inhibitions and experience Tasmania when the locals “feast harder, dance longer and embrace the very wilderness that defines them.”

From the roar of a pagan bonfire, the hiss of a lakeside sauna or the throb of a festival stage, Tasmania in winter is anything but ‘chill’ according to the campaign.

Tourism Tasmania hopes to change how Australians see winter – as a season to embrace not escape.

Eagles Nest. Image courtesy Lusy Productions.

Evoking a picture of wild-spirited adventure, the campaign aims to encourage visitors to head to Tasmania and embrace the island’s weirdness and wildness.

Any time of the year is a fine time to visit Tasmania, but we think winter is extra special. The Off Season is winter for real, a time to gather around blazing log fires and slow-cooked feasts, to play in snow and plunge into festivals, to toast the warmth with Tassie wine and whisky. Dance around bonfires. Talk long into the night. Dream deeply. – campaign blurb

“Some people see winter as a time to hibernate and wait for the cooler season to end,” Tourism Tasmania CEO John Fitzgerald said.

“We’re inviting Australians to get off the couch and embrace a wintery holiday in Tasmania. Other parts of Australia might endure winter, but Tasmanians have a different way of doing things. We embrace the season like nowhere else – winter is when we thrive.

“Tasmanians revel in the season and get out and about seeking to be enriched, alive and connected.”

Some of the suggested off-season experiences include:

  • Barley Silo Stargazing at McHenry Distillery’s new observatory. Peer into distant galaxies, watch an Aurora and learn the secrets of the sky.
  • Everyday I’m Trufflin celebrates the finer things in life. Embark on a truffle hunt, enjoy fine Tassie wine and truffle-inspired dining at Stillwater Seven.
  • Sarah Island lantern tour tells tales of fear and dread and a dark convict history on a dimly-lit night tour only for the brave. Lashings of local whisky, mulled wine and warm morsels keep shivers at bay.
  • Meet the fluffy wombats up-close and experience the beautiful wildlife on the Maria Island walk.

Wombats at Cradle Mountain. Image courtesy Laura Helle.