The NT needs govt help

A LACK of serious airline competition is one of several factors denting domestic travel volumes to the Northern Territory, a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Charlies Darwin University believes.

Speaking with TD this week, Maneka Jayasinghe argued that the small number of airlines currently operating in the territory is spurring on carriers to charge higher air fares, which is ultimately suppressing travel demand to the Top End.

One way of combatting the problem of sluggish demand in Jayasinghe’s view is for the Federal Government to step in and subsidise airfares, or even assist NT operators in discounting the price of accommodation, restaurants and tour packages.

“Once tourists arrive in Darwin, they have to incur further costs to travel within the territory, for example, to places such as Katherine and Alice Springs,” Jayasinghe said.

“High airfares, coupled with high accommodation and travel costs within the territory, may make domestic travellers more inclined to choose destinations closer to their states due to lower travel costs unless they have a strong desire to visit NT-based attractions,” she added.

The economics expert also believes the Federal Government needs to take action and encourage greater investment in all weather-suitable tourism activities in and around Darwin so that travellers don’t need to spend as much time travelling to remote areas within the Territory.

Meanwhile, Jayasinghe also said more needs to be done to promote the NT to Asian nations, such as stronger marketing messages focusing on different demographic cohorts.