Central Australia's tourism industry is continuing to call for support as rising costs, expensive airfares and crime concerns continue to impact visitor numbers. The NT's new tourism minister says there's plans to revitalise marketing for the Red Centre, but operators say change can't come soon enough.
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00:00 In the rich sands of the Red Centre, a tourism sector is still fighting to bounce back.
00:08 There's been no consistency for the last three years and it's been a real battle for everybody.
00:15 For Urmina Station Homestead, 30 minutes out of Alice Springs,
00:19 international visitation dried up over COVID and has barely returned,
00:24 while the domestic drive market is still lagging behind.
00:28 It's like they don't want to spend the same amount of money coming to the middle of Australia
00:33 as they could to go overseas.
00:35 This year's tourism season has been described as a tale of two stories.
00:40 Tour groups are up with some operators along the Stuart Highway,
00:44 like the Devil's Marbles Hotel, reporting a record year.
00:48 But those linked to the drive market, including caravan parks,
00:52 have seen bookings plummet down to 50% compared to last year.
00:57 Tourism Central Australia says the industry is still struggling to bounce back after COVID
01:02 and cost of living pressures, soaring airfares and crime concerns are only slowing progress.
01:08 We're in the millions of dollars here in terms of impact to the regional economy.
01:13 The NT's newly appointed tourism minister
01:16 claims the government is working to revitalise the industry.
01:20 There's marketing ploys in place,
01:22 they're working diligently and they're working hard to continue to attract the drive market.
01:27 But others say more needs to be done, with calls for tourism vouchers to return.
01:33 Wouldn't it be fantastic to give incentive to Australians to come and visit their fabulous,
01:38 local, amazing environments?
01:41 We will consider all options. I will look at this with a fresh set of eyes.
01:45 A new minister left with plenty of work to be done.
01:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]