The Australian Government is delighted to announce that the inaugural Big Uluru Trek will arrive at one of our country’s most recognisable landmarks in August.
The 100-kilometre five-day desert trek from Amata to Uluru has been given a one-year commercial activity licence and is the first licence announced from the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park expression of interest process.
The Park’s Board of Management considered the proposals received at their November 2015 meeting and were excited by the scale and scope of the proposals they received.
“These new ideas will boost tourism and investment at Uluru and in the Northern Territory while providing greater employment opportunities for locals,” Minister Hunt said.
“It is great to see private enterprise given a chance to work with Indigenous and government partners to deliver ideas that ensure Uluru remains a destination of choice for travellers.”
“This shows that innovative ideas can come from good public partnerships with private enterprise.”
“Tourism has a vital role to play in promoting the natural and cultural values of the park. The proposals for the expression of interest needed to contribute to a healthy regional economy while creating benefits for local businesses and communities.”
“I’d like to congratulate the proponents of the Big Uluru Trek for being the first licence announced from the expression of interest process and I look forward to the announcement of other new ideas as they are developed with our private partners.”
Big Run Events Managing Director Greg Donovan, who proposed the Big Uluru Trek, said his company specialised in unique outback experiences and to be given the chance to develop an event at Australia’s most iconic outback location was a very attractive opportunity.
“We are very excited about holding an event at Uluru and providing visitors with a new experience,” Mr Donovan said.
“This event takes place on traditional lands and we want it to provide a deeper understanding of Indigenous culture and history.”
“We found the expression of interest was a very efficient process and we were given excellent support to allow us to submit a quality application.”
The Park’s Board of Management is continuing to work with those who have submitted ideas with public announcements at the discretion of proponents once licences have been signed.
(ENDS)