Sailor Food Truck took out Festivale's top stall honour in 2020, it accelerated the fledgling business to be the popular eatery it is today.
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Co-owner Nelson Da Silva said the impact Festivale had on the business was invaluable.
"It didn't launch us, but it helped make more people aware of the brand. You can't put a price on how much that can do for a small business," he said.
"There was an instant impact to the point where people were ordering so much of our crayfish we almost couldn't keep up."
Like Mr Da Silva, other small business owners have used Festivale as a launching platform over the event's lifetime, and hold concern about the impact any loss in 2022 could have.
Due to uncertainty presented by COVID, the Festivale organiser's committee made the decision to delay the event's launch while it awaited on a call on festival capacity numbers.
It was understood holding the traditional festival with less than 10,000 people would not be financially viable.
"One of the things we need to ready ourselves for in Tasmania is when we do open, and by that I mean open our borders ... Delta will arrive, and for those events in the new year it will be a different ball game," Mr Gutwein said
"As we start to see COVID beginning to spread in the community, that's a time when we would really not want to be doing things that could accentuate the risk or create a super spreader event," Dr Veitch added.
Mr Gutwein said, in the meantime, the government would continue to push as hard as it could in the vaccination rollout.
The words of Mr Gutwein and Dr Veitch did little to provide a pathway to potential and past Festival stall holders unsure of their plans ahead of the February event.
For many food truck or stall holders, Festivale was more than a money maker, it was the best value for money marketing tactic any of the smaller businesses could use.
For On the Slide owner Marcus Gray, appearing at Festivale helped consolidate his business.
He said after the first appearance, the exposure to a diverse and large market saw On the Slide end up being booked all over the state.
After a few appearances, Festivale ended up being responsible for three months' turnover.
While both stall holders were confident they would be able to survive without the event in 2022, they felt for fresh businesses who might have hoped to use Festivale to put themselves out their on a larger scale and were wary of the impact that might have on business in the long-term.
Tasmanian Small Business Council executive officer Rob Mallett said while there had not been a reduction in new small businesses starting during the pandemic, it was clear chances for those businesses to launch themselves to the next stage had been diminished.
"Without something like Festivale, the opportunity to showcase your business is taken away, and ever dollar that doesn't go in the till is a dollar you don't get back," he said.
"Every missed opportunity is a disappointment."
Small Business Minister Jane Howlett said the government recognised the importance of businesses in Tasmania.
She said support packages had been, and would continue to be, provided throughout the pandemic and pointed to the government's COVID-19 Small Business Advice and Financial Guidance Program as an example of marketing support.
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