Destination Management Plan Alice Springs and MacDonnell Ranges Region 2020 Summary Key Partners 1 Front Cover: Trephina Gorge Nature Park – East MacDonnell Ranges Back Cover: Hermannsburg Potters - Ntaria / Hermannsburg This Page: RT Tours2 Australia - Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park Contents Destination Management Plan role and process 5 Alice Springs and MacDonnell Ranges Region overview 6 Tourism in the Region Value of tourism in the Region Visitor market profile Trends in regional tourism Destination management planning for the Alice 12 Springs and MacDonnell Ranges Region Guiding principles Destination awareness Approach to developing visitor experiences in the Region Industry gaps and opportunities Action plan 15 Capacity building activities Facilitation of collaborative action Strategic product packaging and marketing Investment attraction initiatives Product development opportunities 19 Implementation 20 Reporting and reviews 22 Acronyms – References – Further information 22 3 Hermannsburg Historic Precinct – Ntaria / Hermannsburg 4 Destination Management Plan role and process The Department of Industry, Destination management requires Tourism and Trade has invested alignment and collaboration across the in destination management public, private and community sectors. It involves stakeholders from both the planning as part of a suite tourism and general industry sectors of actions following the contributing to the development development and release of priority experiences in the Alice of the NT’s Tourism Industry Springs and MacDonnell Ranges Strategy 2030. Destination Region. management ensures that Strategically planned and tourism is cohesively integrated implemented tourism experiences can be an economic driver, contributing into the economic, social, to the growth and development cultural and ecological fabrics of a Region through job creation, of a community, by considering investment attraction, and tourism growth holistically, infrastructure development. Equally through a regional lens and over important are the social benefits delivered from tourism, such as added a long-term timeframe. vibrancy and the lifestyle benefits that This plan has been developed attract visitors and residents alike. through extensive consultation with The Alice Springs and MacDonnell stakeholders whose contributions Ranges Region DMP is a 10 year plan were collected through direct which will be periodically reviewed to engagement or survey response ensure the document is relevant in an throughout the consultation process. ever changing external environment. Stakeholder feedback has informed the guiding principles for development NOTE: (Oct 2020) of the Region’s tourism industry and 1. Due to COVID-19 implications, it is supported analysis and design of the expected that the short to medium Destination Management Plan (DMP). term trends in the Australian A full copy of the DMP is available tourism industry will be impacted, online at tourismnt.com.au creating disruption and changes The Alice Springs and MacDonnell to visitor demand and preferences. Ranges Region (the Region) DMP Accordingly, it will be critical to identifies key strengths and assets review the implications to this plan across the Region. The plan considers of shifting trends across the life of visitation demand insights, existing the DMP. planning and priorities for destinations 2. The tourism trends outlined in this in the Region and stakeholder input. plan are based on information and Actions have been identified to data prior to COVID-19. Due to activate opportunities, address gaps COVID-19, it is expected that in the and prioritise product development short to medium term, this data seeking to meet visitor demand while will not reflect the actual situation. encouraging the development of a sustainable tourism sector for the Region. 5 Alice Springs and MacDonnell Ranges Region overview The Alice Springs and MacDonnell Ranges region is bordered by the Northern Territory (NT) regions of Barkly and Big Rivers on its northern end, and the Lasseter region to the south. The Region shares borders with Western Australia and Queensland on its far west and east. The Region includes the Territory’s second most populated centre of Alice Springs, which forms an important service point for communities and visitors across Central Australia. Alice Springs is bordered by the East and West MacDonnell Ranges and is surrounded by arid desert environments. Palm Valley - Finke Gorge National Park 6 Litcheld Kakadu Arnhem Galiwinku Maningrida !• • Nhulunbuy Darwin • Jabiru • Litcheld Kakadu Arnhem Adelaide River • • Daly River • Alyangula Ta nami • • Wadeye Katherine • MacDonnell Ti Tree Yuendumu • • Limmen Papunya Figure 1 and 2 shows the• Alice Katherine • Tjoritjja/West • MacDonnell National • East MacDonnell Ranges Borroloola Ikuntji/ Park Daly Springs and MacDonnell Ranges• Haasts Bluff Daly Waters • Alice Springs• • Ltyentye Apurte/ Santa Teresa Ntaria/Hermannsburg • • Finke Gorge National Park • Region alongside the other Rainbow Vally • Conservation Reserve tourism regions of the NT. Elliott • Barkly Te nnant Creek Barkly • Homestead Ta nami • • Devils Marbles • Barrow Creek • MacDonnell Ta nami Ti Tree • Yuendumu • • MacDonnell Haasts Bluff Ti Tree • Yuendumu • • Alice Springs Alice Papunya • • Tjoritjja/West Springs • MacDonnell National • East MacDonnell Ranges Ikuntji/ Park • • Haasts Bluff Kings Canyon Alice Springs• • Ltyentye Apurte/ Santa Teresa Ntaria/Hermannsburg • Finke Gorge National Park • Rainbow Valley • Conservation Reserve Yulara Lasseter • Finke • Figure 1 - NT Tourism regions Figure 2 - Alice Springs and MacDonnell inset map (not to scale) Source: TRA, Tourism Region Maps, NT. Tourism in the Region The Region makes up a significant portion of Central Australia and is characterised by unique desert environments. Visitor experiences in the Region focus on nature, Aboriginal culture, adventure, history and events. A snapshot of the key tourism destinations and experiences in the Region is shown in Figure 3, which also highlights the range of potential experiences to be addressed throughout the Region, as identified during stakeholder consultations (these are marked in pink). The snapshot highlights the potential for the Region to expand its current tourism offerings by enhancing or adding to the existing experiences and developing a sustainable tourism industry. 7 8 Tanami Desert Binns Track Ti Tree Yuendumu Gemtree Plenty Highway Papunya Hale River Homestead Ikuntji/Haasts Bluff Arltunga Historical Ruby Gap Nature East MacDonnell Reserve Park Tjoritja – West MacDonnell Ranges NP Ranges Trephina Gorge Nature Park Ross River Resort Glen Helen Lodge Alice Springs Owen Springs Reserve Mereenie Loop Ltyentye Apurte/ Ntaria/ Santa Teresa Hermannsburg Stuarts Well Rainbow Valley Binns Track Reserve Finke Gorge NP Figure 13 -- Alice Alice Springs Springs and and MacDonnell MacDonnell Ranges Ranges totourismurism experienc experienceses Mbantua Fine Art Gallery and Cultural Museum - Alice Springs Value of tourism in the Region Visitor market profile Alice Springs estimated resident population in 2019 was Tourism consumption totalled $581 million in 2017/18, 26,390, representing 10.7% of the NT’s total population. with the categories for goods and services attributing to Between the years 2011 and 2016, the population of Alice the highest spend being: Springs decreased by a total of 1.7%.1 Poor population growth is a trend seen across the NT. • Long distance passenger transport ($182 million) The Region is an important contributor to the NT • Takeaway and restaurant meals ($69 million) economy, hosting 27% of the Territory’s registered • Accommodation ($60 million) businesses (4,025 in total), and generating 9% of the Territory’s Gross State Product (GSP) in 2019 (totalling • Fuel ($57 million). 2 $2 billion). According to economy.id, the leading Tourism consumption data confirms the important role of industries in the Region in 2018/19 by value were: touring to tourism in the Region. Further details of visitor • Health care and social assistance ($439 million) consumption are provided in Appendix D of the full DMP • Public administration and safety ($274 million) document. • Education and training ($178 million).2 Comparatively, Tourism Research Australia’s Regional Tourism Satellite Account, which considers the economic impacts of tourism across the economy, highlights that the tourism industry contributed approximately 16% of the Alice Springs and MacDonnell Ranges Region’s Gross Regional Product (GRP) ($324 million) and employed 1,755 people (directly and indirectly) in 2017/18.3 9 73% of which were domestic visitors4 451,000 46% Visitors in 2017/18 of visitors are to the region4 the self–drive market4 43% of visitors arrived by air.4 This figure is comparable with the drive market International Domestic Visitors Business Travellers Visitors to the Region to the Region to the Region are prominent visitors to the Region 29% 27% of the total market - also visited Greater Over one third almost all were domestic Darwin are self-drive travellers 5 73% leisure visitors also visited the 64% On average length of Lasseter Region 4 stayed for 3 or less nights 4.6 nights 23% in 20196 stayed for 6-14 nights 4 Mountain biking in the Red Centre – Alice Springs 10 • 211,000 visitors • 122,000 visitors annually annually • 119,000 visitors annually • Average length of stay • Average length of 8.3 nights stay 5.0 nights • Average length of stay 3.6 nights • Mostly visit