Peak bodies hit out at govt for not consulting

THE peak body representing tourism businesses in the Top End has reacted with anger over the Gunner government’s original plan to start charging to enter Territory parks.

Darwin-based Tourism Top End was blindsided by the shock plan, saying there had been no consultation with the Territory tourism industry.

Tourism Top End general manager Glen Hingley said he was disappointed there was no discussion. “Firstly, I am not aware of any consultation with the industry about this – the first I heard of it was when I read it in the NT News,” Mr Hingley said. “This is of concern. At the very least you would have thought government would have had some conversation with the industry.

“A large number of Territorians in the tourism industry have invested their life savings into their businesses. Their operations are dependant on park access. To wake up and see the plan to introduce fees is not a good thing.

“Secondly, part of that consultation will be to have an understanding what is the reason for the park fees, what is the intention – hopefully it is not just revenue raising.”

Mr Hingley said there was more to the fees than a mere admission price, and queried where the money would be spent.

“Will it be on better campgrounds, walking trails, and better facilities for not just tourists but Territory locals as well?”

Mr Hingley said tour operators would not be able to absorb the added cost of park fees. “Everyone is operating on very tight margins right now. This has been a devastating time economically for the Territory’s tourism industry.

“This is particularly so for people who have tour vehicles. For this to be ahead of them in what is an incredibly competitive domestic market for the foreseeable future is of great concern.”

Chamber of Commerce NT chief executive officer Greg Ireland shared the same concerns. Mr Ireland said he also first learned of the NT government’s park fee plan when he read the NT News.

“We were not consulted and I was pretty surprised to read about it,” Mr Ireland said.

“The Territory tourism industry is still doing it very hard and is feeling the crunch of the downturn in tourism numbers.

“This will be another barrier for people and we would have hoped the government would be doing as much as it can to encourage tourism to Territory parks. Our tourism industry needs every competitive edge to compete with other states.

“We want to encourage people to come up and use our parks, and charging them to do so is counter-productive.”