Northern Territory tourism: Uluru’s Ayers Rock Resort nominated for two World Tourism Awards
A Red Centre will battle the Sydney Opera House, Milford Sound, and the Great Barrier Reef after it was nominated for two prestigious awards. Find out which attraction it is.
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A Red Centre resort is getting global attention for its efforts in showcasing one of Australia’s most iconic sites.
This week, the World Travel Awards announced Ayers Rock Resort had been nominated for two big tourism awards.
The Central Australian site will compete against heavyweights such as the Sydney Opera House, Great Barrier Reef, and Milford Sound.
For its Leading Tourist Attraction nomination, the resort received recognition for its role in hosting the Wintjiri Wiru experience, which involves more than a 1000 drones retelling the ancient Mala story.
The Ayers Rock Resort will also compete against the likes of Canberra’s National Arboretum and New Zealand’s EcoZip Adventures for Oceania’s Responsible Tourism Award.
Award winners will be announced on September 3 in Manila, Philippines.
The double nomination comes after it was earlier reported the hotel – bought for $300m in 2011 – could change hands in the future.
In February, the operators behind the resort, Indigenous-owned Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia, assessed the possibility of selling the venue.
The assessment came after Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation (ILSC) – which owns Voyages – announced it wished to fulfil its statutory obligations of returning land to First Nations people.
ILSC appointed law firm Gilbert + Tobin and Greenhill to assist with the assessment process which focused on exploring potential alternative ownership options.
CEO of Voyages Matt Cameron-Smith said they were “over the moon” to be nominated”.
“As the only NT operator in the nominee list, we’re hoping that with some fierce support from Territorians we can turn these nominations into wins,” he said.
A spokesman for ILSC said the review was still in its “early stages”.
Voting for the Oceania categories closes on July 28.
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