Dispatches

The Age

Saturday May 19, 2007

Kay O'Sullivan

Reef rules in global travel

THE Great Barrier Reef has been named best destination at the seventh annual Global Travel and Tourism Summit in Lisbon. Tourism for Tomorrow recognises world's best practices in tourism development.

The judges, drawn from an impressive array of people who make up the World Travel and Tourism Council, applauded what they described as strong and active partnership between those charged with looking after the Great Barrier Reef and business operators.

The competition drew 130 entrants from 40 countries.

LINKS wttc.org

And next year it'll be time to rock

The reef got the nod in 2007 but it could be the rock's turn in 2008, now that the new sunrise viewing area at Uluru is to be built with $15 million from the Federal Government written into the recent budget.

More than 400,000 tourists visit Uluru each year and a sunrise or sunset viewing is a top priority for most. Crowded conditions at the sunrise area in particular have long been a problem for all concerned, including the tourists, who rarely complain about what they see but are surprised by how many others they have to share it with.

The new site, which is south of the existing viewing area, is set in dunes about a 10 minutes drive from the rock and is positioned to give sweeping views of both Uluru and sunrise over Kata Tjuta.

Included in the project will be an access road, viewing platform and parking for buses and cars. It is the biggest piece of infrastructure in the area since the Aboriginal Cultural Centre was built a decade ago. When completed late next year the site will accommodate more than 1500 visitors at a time, about 1000 more than at present.

Discussions about what other facilities and experiences will be developed in and around the site are continuing.

Grant Hunt, chairman of Tourism NT, welcomed the news. "On all levels this is wonderful. It's a vital piece of infrastructure - as anyone who has been to Uluru will testify, it can get pretty crowded there of a morning. This will greatly enhance the experience."

Money for the project was part of an overall budget investment of $193.3 million in tourism over four years, including $34.9 million for regional tourism projects in drought-affected areas.

LINK environment.gov.au/parks/uluru/

Fantasy on the island

Grant Hunt spent 10 years as CEO of the tourism company Voyages before leaving last year to develop different interests, including his position with Tourism NT.

One of those new interests is consulting on the development of Qualia, a new resort on Hamilton Island, scheduled to open in the spring.

Plans are being kept under wraps but the resort is being positioned at the top of the luxury market and will be an entirely separate experience to all else on Hamilton.

Hamilton Island's owners, Sandy and Bob Oatley, who bought the island in 2004 for a reported $200 million, have promised a resort on a scale and of a quality never before seen in this country, and hopefully no skyscrapers.

LINK hamiltonisland.com.au

© 2007 The Age

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