Hobart's Nightlife Faces Challenges Amidst Rising Costs and Shifting Habits

As the manager of one of the bars at Salamanca on Hobart's waterfront, Dinesh Khadka has had a front-row seat to Australia's changing drinking habits.

Changing consumer behaviour was one of the factors blamed when seven Hobart venues, including several along the Salamanca strip, suddenly shut down on Monday.

On some nights, the bar where Dinesh Khadka works is packed — every table is occupied, and the dance floor is bustling.

You would expect that to lead to a frantic shift for the bartenders, rapidly mixing cocktails and pouring beers for an endless stream of thirsty patrons.

But according to Mr Khadka, that is no longer necessarily the case.

"There have been nights where you have absolutely no space on your floor, the dance floor is packed, and everyone's having fun," he said.

Mr Khadka said shifting attitudes towards going out have had a distinct impact on hospitality venues, with crowds arriving later in the night and young people ordering fewer drinks.

'Where are the young people?'

Wednesday night was traditionally the "student night" in Hobart, when large groups of university students would descend on the city's bars for a rowdy night out.

This week's edition was a relatively quiet affair — at least in the early evening — with a mix of students, tourists and locals scattered across various venues in Salamanca.

For those who did venture out, there was a common sentiment that the vibe had undoubtedly changed, with the rising cost of alcohol most commonly blamed.

Jade Jesenkovic told the ABC she remembered nights out being much more affordable in her youth, with $2 happy hour pints and cheaper cigarettes.

"Going to the pub now is … depressing. Like, where are the young people? There are no young people here, and that's what's sad," Ms Jesenkovic said.

"It's all house parties now, like in Hobart as well, because the nightlife has just been … shot in the head — there's nothing, there's nowhere to go, there's no excitement."

On the next table over, Keegan Richardson described the $15 he had paid for his beer as an "absolute bloody rort".

"You've got to have at least a few beers at home before you go out, otherwise it's an absolute bloody piss take."

Pre-drinks, discount apps used to soften hip-pocket hurt

University student Jack Muir also named pre-drinking as a way to avoid the "iffy" prices at pubs, along with going out less and keeping an eye out for discounts.

"You sort of look for the specials a little bit … and you do like a pre [pre-drink] if you're going out," he said.

Fellow reveller Caleb O'Neal said a night at the pub was "definitely quite expensive" and felt more like "a luxury" than a regular social outing.

His friend Austin Allison-Hall said their group had become more conscious of the cost of drinks, although he had managed to soften the blow by only buying "one or two".

Another way people were reducing the cost of a night out was by using discount apps to find cheaper meals and drinks.

Victorian tourist Nora Merralls said she had turned to them after noticing drinks becoming more expensive.

"There's almost a bit more of a social acceptance to using these types of things," she said.

"People are maybe not as flush as they once were and still want to go out."

Hobart resident Matthew Bicket said the rising cost of living meant he had to pay closer attention to his budget, particularly when spending $12 or $14 on a beer.

He also recalled Salamanca being busy on both Friday and Saturday nights, whereas now it appeared people were choosing just one night to go out.

"Now it's sort of one of those nights that's usually pretty big and the other one's pretty dead," Mr Bicket said.

Costly nightlife is 'detrimental' to retaining young people

Fergus Hadley told the ABC that he felt there were not enough "uni discounts" or other incentives to encourage young people to go out.

He said the alcohol tax made sense but was also having a ripple effect on young Tasmanians' ability to socialise, by pushing drink prices higher.

"When you're in a state like this, which is losing a lot of young people, it's extremely detrimental," he said.

"Things have become so expensive and so restrictive in terms of going out."

While the cost of drinks was an almost unanimous complaint, many of those out for the night said they worked hard to ensure it did not stop them from socialising.

That included Ms Jesenkovic, who said she could not imagine a life where she did not catch up with friends over a drink.

"I can't imagine such a solitary life where you go to work, you go home, you go to work — all to buy a house," she said.

"I'm not going to go home and go through coupons and be like 'I'm going to get a sausage for a dollar'. Like, f*** that. I'm going to go get a beer."

For hospitality operators, though, individual spending decisions are increasingly translating into broader challenges for the industry's viability.

First weekend since major closures

From inside his Salamanca bar, Mr Khadka said he believed the problems extended beyond the venues themselves.

He said the hospitality sector benefited greatly each year from events like Dark Mofo, and there should be a bigger focus on creating more major drawcards.

"It seems like Hobart doesn't have enough people, so the only thing you need is to give people from interstate or international reasons to come down here," he said.

"It should be coming from a high level, where they should be pushing more of these kinds of events."

This weekend will be the first since the sudden closure of the Hotel Banc and Pub Banc venues, which could have a major impact on the city's nightlife.

Mr Khadka said he was unsure whether the closures would funnel more people into his business or simply drive people away from Salamanca.

"Any venue going down somehow negatively affects Salamanca, because people living in, let's say, New Norfolk … they see all over the news, the venues are shutting," he said.

"They'll be like … 'maybe we just do a barbecue [at] home and then stick to our local club ', and then nobody's coming to Salamanca.