Tourist rush on remote NT businesses as lockdowns lift
Remote businesses in Central Australia have been run off their feet with roadhouses along the Stuart Hwy seeing an influx of visitors after the lifting of the Covid-19 lockdown in Alice Springs.
Business
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REMOTE businesses in Central Australia have been run off their feet with roadhouses along the Stuart Hwy seeing an influx of visitors after the lifting of a Covid-19 lockdown in Alice Springs.
Devils Marbles Hotel, about 115km south of Tennant Creek, was booked out over the weekend.
Manager Rebecca Diaz said after the lockdown got lifted in Alice Springs on Friday afternoon – a day earlier than originally flagged – the hotel “got absolutely mental”.
“We had been having calls for cancelled bookings throughout the week,” Ms Diaz said.
“When they lifted restrictions early on Friday, everyone was obviously desperate to get out of Alice Springs.”
Ms Diaz said the business saw a 14 per cent increase in trade on Saturday with a bit more again on Sunday, compared to the previous weekend.
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Compared to this time two years ago in 2019 – prior to Covid-19 – Ms Diaz said the business was seeing about a 30 per cent increase in gross profit per week.
“A couple of weeks ago it was 41 per cent increase for like gross profit,” she said.
Ms Diaz said the free camping offered at the front of the accommodation had been full for the past two months.
“We have had to turn heaps of people away,” she said.
“The majority of travellers are caravanners – around 80 per cent.
“All our rooms are booked as well but people tend to plan more for those.
“Caravanners just seem to want to rock up and get availability wherever they go. They’re all in shock when you turn them away.”
Ms Diaz joined the business four years ago and said, with the exception of 2020, the number of caravanners travelling had increased each year.
“I think that people want to travel more and there’s young families that want to travel and teach their kids remote education,” she said.
The Devils Marbles Hotel has won three NT Hospitality Gold Plate awards and has been nominated for a fourth.
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