The Royal National Agricultural and Pastoral Society of Tasmania announced on Thursday morning it had made the "difficult decision" to cancel the two-day event, which was planned for October.

Society president Dale Beams said restrictions on public gatherings and uncertainty over the lifting of those restrictions had made the event "unworkable".

It is the second year in a row the show has been cancelled due to COVID restrictions.

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"The decision not to proceed with our annual show has not been taken lightly," Mr Beams said.

"When arriving at this decision careful consideration was given to such factors as the ability of our society to be able to stage an event that will satisfy the expectations of attendees, financial risk to our society and vendors and the health and well being of our stakeholders and the general community.

"Unfortunately with the current COVID environment still threatening our communities we cannot guarantee we can conduct our show and achieve our desired outcomes."

Prior to the recent cancellations, the historic event had been operating annually - with a few exceptions - since 1873.

And the society planned to continue that tradition.

"Our focus will now be directed towards the planning of the 2022 Royal Launceston Show," Mr Beams said.

The news comes after an earlier announcement that the Royal Hobart Show would proceed, with COVID-safe guidelines, and a grant of $50,000 for hygiene and patron management equipment.

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Minister for Community Services and Development Jeremy Rockliff said the state government's support for the Hobart show was in addition to the recent announcement of nearly $250,000 from the Agricultural Show Development Grants Program.

"Like many other events, our shows have been impacted by the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, with many cancelled in 2020 and 2021, and it is fantastic that we have secured the Hobart Show for 2021," he said.

He confirmed the state government had offered similar support for the Launceston show.

"The Tasmanian Government has been working to assist the Launceston show through funding and in-kind support," he said.

But despite that support, the society said it was simply about not being able to get enough people through the gates.

"We acknowledge the complexity of operating such events within COVID safe guidelines and this outcome will of course be disappointing for the local community," Mr Rockliff said.

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