In Australia’s outback, youth crime stymies efforts to get tourism on track
Al Jazeera
Tourism operators in the remote Northern Territory say focus on youth crime is scaring away visitors.
Alice Springs, Australia – For Ben Hall, the CEO of tour bus operator AAT Kings, business lately has been tough.
He says visitors are not booking tours to Uluru, a huge sandstone monolith that is the most famous attraction in Australia’s vast Northern Territory, in the numbers they used to.
“We’ve certainly seen the trips from Alice Springs to Uluru have been a little bit softer,” Hall, who operates a fleet of about 30 buses focusing on tours to Uluru, told Al Jazeera.
“We’ve added a couple of new short break itineraries for this year into the region…but certainly it’s been tough trading.”
Tour and car rental companies across Australia’s Red Centre, as the country’s vast outback region is often called, have reported a similar drop-off in business.
