TravelingOz.com - Open Letter

I have decided to write you this letter after a long thought process and months of going back and forth. You may not like what you are about to read but I feel this email needs to be written.

However, I am sad to say that I can no longer support the festival until a more centralized location in the USA has been found. I have received 22 complaints via my website. (As of today.) Mainly about people complaining that they can no longer attend the festival due to a number of reasons. Including but not limited to: The increased cost of travel to Florida, the very high prices of the hotels, the cost of fuel if you want to drive it, and the location. Example: I had a room at a Marriott booked for the festival. The rate was $205 more per night then the Marriott in Nashville. I rest my case about the cost increase.

I am sure you did and excellent job. As well as Peter. However, the festival MUST be more centralized in order to get more people to attend from across the USA. The cost would also be drastically reduced. The festival board was crazy to move it to Florida. I hear from the grapevine that you basically railroaded the location change without regard for the factors mentioned above and the backlash it would cause. I have talked with several people that DO NOT agree about what was done and how it was handled. Myself included. Several people's comments were not kind as you might expect.

Sure, South Florida is a great place for a vacation but not for something like a festival needing national attendance. Not everyone can afford to pay to travel to South Florida. Not to mention the expenses. As a result, the powers that be, including yourself, disenfranchised most of the people who were prior attendees. Myself included. I can say with a high degree of confidence that 95% of the attendees to the 2007 festival were local or people that live around the state of Florida. What about those who were left out? Those that attended every year it was in Nashville?

One woman from Louisville, KY in an email to me shortly after the festival ended seemed to sum things up nicely. She writes "Moving the festival to Ft. Lauderdale is a joke. Finding out it was moving there was like getting slapped in the face. I can't travel that far due to my budget." She hit the nail on the head I would say. Another email comment from a person in Little Rock, AR: "Are they going to have a marina so I can park my yacht?"

The Australian Festival should be a national event with a mission to get as many attendees as possible while at the same time making it affordable for the average person to attend. NOT just for those fortunate enough to live in South Florida. IE: The rich and well off. The festival was never thought of as being something for just one state. Surely you must admit that moving the festival back to a central location is better. This would allow for multiple state attendance. If the City of Nashville didn't want the park used because it outgrew it, so what. Find a different one. OR, find a different central city such as St. Louis, Little Rock, or Kansas City. Even Chicago or Dallas would work. These cities are all better suited then South Florida. The cost per person in these cities is certainly much much less in order to do business. Have you looked at a map lately? As you can see, South Florida is not convenient nor centrally located.

Sorry about the tone in this email but you needed to hear what other people are thinking and the comments being received by others. I am sure Peter has received several negative comments as well. While it is not my place to decide these things, IT IS my place to do what I can to change things. I will support a move back north but will never agree to South Florida. This email will be posted on my site for review by all who visit TravelingOz.com. Perhaps I'll start a movement. Or maybe I'll start my own festival. I have the talent, commitment, and the know-how to actually pull it off. Back in the 1980's, St. Louis had its own Festival called "Australia Week". It was organized by all the Aussies that live here. It may be time to bring it back.