Tourism in the Northern Territory had a buoyant 2008 with demand for accommodation outstripping the national average. The latest accommodation figures indicated that Northern Territory hotels, motels and serviced apartments performed well with some of the highest quarterly figures in the country.

The average daily room rate grew, with a 5.8% increase in the average to $128.90 (excluding GST) per night.

Coupled with occupancy rates of 69% it has provided an additional boost to revenue per available room up 10.6% to $85.90, the second highest increase in Australia, behind Western Australia.

To bolster this success the Northern Territory government has made significant investments into infrastructure for community and visitor facilities. One such investment is the recently opened Darwin Convention Centre. The centre forms a pivotal part of the Darwin Waterfront development and is anticipated to drive long-term economic growth to the territory. This world-class convention centre has 4000 m² of exhibition space, a 1500 seat plenary hall, waterfront function rooms and 12 meeting rooms.

In addition, Darwin’s new $5.5 million cruise ship terminal will be opened later this year which will ensure passengers experience first class hospitality upon arrival.

In August, Jetstar announced the establishment of a new regional international aviation hub in Darwin. The hub will increase capacity and services from Darwin to domestic ports, facilitate new northbound international services and establish a Darwin home base for aircraft and crew.

In a five-year agreement between Jetstar and the Northern Territory government the airline will initially base three aircraft by 2009 with an anticipated seven by 2012 resulting in the creation of 250 jobs, which could rise to 650 by 2012 and bring an additional 250,000 tourists to the territory.

Eventually Jestar could be operating up to 77 flights per week into Darwin providing an excellent opportunity to drive territory business, the economy and tourism opportunities.

With the recent release of the Baz Luhrmann movie, Australia, Darwin is set be become a star attraction.

Tourism NT will continue to market the territory under the Share our Story campaign and is confident that the hype surrounding the film will add more compelling reasons to visit the territory. As will the $2 million global marketing campaign Get CeNTred launched by Tourism NT. This campaign for Central Australia will challenge travellers to reconnect with themselves though unforgettable travel experiences in Australia’s Red Centre.

The campaign will have a second phase in February and March 2009 with the Australian domestic market urged to visit two of the Northern Territory’s priority destinations of Alice Springs and Uluru.

The Northern Territory economy is expected to grow strongly in 2008/09 at a rate of 6.6%* supported by strong business confidence. Export growth is forecast to remain strong in the medium term due to the combined effect of increased LNG, alumina and manganese exports combined with the recent of Inpex announcement make the territory a viable investment area.

Tourism NT chief executive, Maree Tetlow said that good investment prospects exist within both the tourism industry and high yielding business sectors. “Investment opportunities that cater to the expanding business travel sector in the urban centres are very good,” said Ms Tetlow. “We are fielding more enquiries for specialised investments that leverage the territory’s very strong nature and culture positioning,” she said.

There are challenging times ahead for the Australian tourism market however, Tourism NT will continue with a range of exciting marketing initiatives that will put the territory in the spotlight.

Tourism NT can assist with your investment in the Northern Territory by identifying opportunities, providing research data and market insights, assisting with government approvals and providing advice on development proposals.

* Territory Tourism Outlook 08/09