Parrtjima puts Red Centre on the map for tourism
TOURISM operators in the Red Centre are gearing up for what is hoped is an explosive start to the tourism season with the launch of Parrtjima.
Centralian Advocate
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TOURISM operators in the Red Centre are gearing up for what is hoped is an explosive start to the tourism season with the launch of Parrtjima – the first major event of the year which is expected to boost the economy by millions.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic almost wiping out tourism completely last year, Parrtjima 2020 managed to go ahead in September, where more than 17,000 people visited the Festival of Light in Alice Springs over its 10 day duration.
The numbers were down 8000 from the previous year where more than $1.8 million was spent by visitors specially travelling to attend Parrtjima.
The 2021 event kicks off tonight and runs until April 18, and local businesses are looking forward to the visitor overflow.
Minister Major Events Natasha Fyles said the event had already seen impressive booking figures with 12,000 visitors registered and 80 per cent of them from interstate.
“Parrtjima shines a light on Alice Springs and draws thousands of visitors from around Australia to the Red Centre, to attend the festival and discover everything the region has to offer,” she said.
“Operators have seen incredible demand for hotel rooms, tourism experiences and car hire during the Parrtjima dates, which is great news for local businesses and the Alice Springs community.”
Alice Springs Helicopters pilot Kat Doederer said the business had already seen a very positive trend, even compared to 2019.
She said the big events like Parrtijima help boost business for the smaller companies.
“They stay in the hotels, they head to the brochures and have time to spend in town and we see with people not able to travel overseas they are willing to spend more on an experience.
She said they’ve got a few bookings in the coming days, with some last minute bookings which came through this week.
“We do a lot of work with the Ghan and those numbers have been great for us.
“Even with the rain people still want to go up and see the landscape differently.”
Earth Sanctuary director Tom Falzon said they were “at full capacity at the moment”.
“Traditionally this is when our tourism season begins. Parrtijima is one event that continues to put Central Australia on the map.
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“It certainly plays a role in attracting more people and it would definitely have a positive influence on our program.
“We are fully booked in terms of running programs over the next two weeks so we hope to see a solid season.”
For interstate visitors hoping to hire a car – anecdotal reports have revealed phones at several vehicle hiring businesses have been ringing off the hook.
At Alice Springs Airport, Avis employee Rebecca Wilson said there were no cars available for hire during April at this stage due to being fully booked out, ABC Alice Springs reported.
”If they can get here and we’ve got something available and somebody cancels, then they’re very lucky,” she said.
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”Everyone here is short of cars, so it’s a bit sad for us — but it’s good for the town that there’s finally some business coming back into town.”
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