Uluru climbing ban ‘won’t hurt tourism’

Tour operators say they expect little impact after the Uluru climb’s shutdown in four months.

Tour operators say they expect little impact on their profits after the Uluru climb’s shutdown in four months’ time. Picture: SHAUNA MCNAUGHT

The imminent closure of the Uluru climb is expected to lead to an upsurge in Japanese travellers keen to make the strenuous trek, but tour operators say they expect little impact on their profits after the climb’s shutdown in four months’ time.

Tour operator AAT Kings managing director Matt Cameron-Smith said about 400,000 tourists visited Uluru annually with about 25 per cent of holiday-makers expecting to make the climb. But less than 10 per cent of tourists complete the strenuous 2½- hour trek.

Climbing the rock is particularly attractive to Japanese tourists and Mr Cameron-Smith is expecting an upsurge of Japanese tourists ahead of the October 26 closure, which was decided by the traditional owners of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board.

“Certainly the rock closure might bring forward a surge in inbound from Japan but other markets are growing, such as the United Kingdom, which is showing some positive signs, and domestic tourism to Uluru is strong.

Operators say 70 per cent of the time, the Uluru climbe is closed because of heat or strong winds. Picture: TOURISM AUSTRALIA

“Climbing Uluru is a known activity to most international markets, but I would not say there is one other international market that is attracted to it quite the same as the Japanese inbound market,” Mr Cameron-Smith said, adding that he did not think the closure would dent international demand for rock tourism.

“Between AAT Kings and the other touring operators there’s a plethora of things to do at Uluru besides climbing the rock,” he said.

Mr Cameron-Smith said there were 15 to 18 day tours out of Uluru and AAT Kings did not package the rock as a climb.

He said 70 per cent of the time it was closed because of heat or strong winds.

He said a visit to the Kings Canyon or Kata Tjuta, also known as the Valley of the Winds, was popular.

Baillie Lodges chairman James Baillie said very few of his guests at his 16-suite Longitude 131 luxury wilderness camp in the shadow of Uluru would climb it. “We have an all-inclusive touring program and it does not include the opportunity,” he said.

“It’s an experience that has been discouraged in recent times in respect of indigenous wishes and also safety factors.

“We have had very few requests, maybe one to two people a month.

“Seventy per cent of Longitude 131’s tourists hail from offshore. Most are from the United States with the rest from Britain or Western Europe.”