'Dancefloor's packed, but the bar isn't busy': How night-life is changing

Dinesh Khadka, manager of a bar at Salamanca on Hobart's waterfront, observes a significant shift in customer habits, noting that while dance floors are packed, bar sales are surprisingly low. This phenomenon is contributing to the closure of seven Hobart venues, including several along the popular Salamanca strip.

Khadka describes nights where the venue is full, with patrons actively dancing and occupying every table, yet the bar remains uncharacteristically quiet. He attributes this to changing attitudes toward going out, with crowds arriving later and younger patrons consuming fewer alcoholic beverages. This trend directly impacts the profitability of hospitality venues.

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Everyone's dancing around and you can't really see any empty tables, but the bar is not busy.

Traditionally known for "student night" on Wednesdays, Hobart's nightlife now sees a quieter start to the evening, with a mix of students, tourists, and locals. Many express a sentiment that the vibe has changed, with the rising cost of alcohol being the most cited reason. Jade Jesenkovic recalls more affordable nights out in her youth, lamenting the current expense and the apparent absence of young people.

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

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

Keegan Richardson echoed these sentiments, calling the price of a beer ($15) an "absolute bloody rort" and noting that a slab of beer costs the same as four drinks at the bar. University student Jack Muir also mentioned pre-drinking as a strategy to mitigate the "iffy" prices at pubs. This suggests a broader trend of consumers seeking more cost-effective ways to socialize, impacting traditional nightlife establishments.

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Four of them and it's $60. You can get yourself a whole slab for that, that's an absolute joke. You've got to have at least a few beers at home before you go out, otherwise it's an absolute bloody piss take.