Australia's Uluru Sees Bright Future From Visitors Interested in More Than a Rock
Skift Take
All roads lead to Uluru, even after October 26 when a ban to climb "The Rock" is put into effect. Customers are changing, a reason why it should all be rock-steady for the red desert in Australia's Northern Territory long after the ban is enforced.
It’s the tourism story that’s got everything. A big rock in the middle of nowhere, an indigenous culture asserting its rights, virtue signaling, screams of political correctness, risk, innovation, a spectacular art installation, and crucially, a surge in visitors to the red heart of Australia.
Ayers Rock, or Uluru, is an Australian tourism icon and, for some tourists, a climb to its top is an item on the bucket list. It has made the Northern Territory a popular destination for Asians for whom Australia is their first "Western" holiday. But apart from the Japanese, most Asian travelers are probably content to just do a two-hour walk around the rock and soak in the red hues of the desert, in itself a unique experience.
In truth, climbing the rock isn’t the main reason for visitors — in fact, the number of climbers has dropped drastically over the years. S
