Conference news - Darwin & Northern Territory

Spirit of the outback

Spectacular desert scenery and quirky towns brimming with colourful locals are only part of the picture.

Everybody wants to visit the outback. It tops the wish lists of international visitors and Aussies alike. They want to experience its stark beauty, vast isolated spaces, bright starry expanse of a desert night sky, cultures so different from their own. They want to feel the dry heat and taste the red dust in the back of their throats ñ then wash it down with a cold beer in a small town pub!

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Why should it be any different for conference groups? Certainly the aspirational nature of the Northern Territory makes for a very exciting conference destination. Everybody wants to go there. Everybody wants to see such places as Uluru, Alice Springs, Darwin and Kakadu National Park. It is a region that pretty much sells itself.

The Northern Territory is easily accessed by a range of airlines from all parts of Australia. From Alice Springs, groups have the option of visiting Uluru, while such places as Kakadu are possible from Darwin.

Accessing the Northern Territory recently became a whole lot easier with The Ghan, Australiaís most legendary train journey, now operating twice-weekly services between Adelaide and Darwin. From May to July, there will be three services a week between Adelaide and Alice Springs. The transcontinental journey from Adelaide to Darwin covers 2,979 kilometres and, in either direction, guests have two nights aboard The Ghan.

CONVENTION CENTRAL

For large groups, the focus up to now has been on the Alice Springs Convention Centre (ASCC), which opened in 2002 and has hosted such organisations as St Johns Ambulance, the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases, the Institute of Infectious Deceases, and the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand. In February, more than 750 tourism industry representatives from around Australia converged on the ASCC for the Australian Tourism Awards. In April it will again become a focus for the tourism industry when the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) mounts its annual symposium.

The appeal of Alice Springs is understandable. The city of almost 28,000 people is almost precisely in the centre of the continent and within three hours flying time from any mainland Australia capital city. It nestles amongst the MacDonnell Ranges and has a choice of accommodation to back up the superb facilities of the ASCC.

The Lasseters Hotel Casino, which featured in Priscilla Queen of the Desert and adjoins the ASCC, has 127 4ý star guestrooms and 13 suites. The Novotel Outback Alice Springs, Crowne Plaza Alice Springs and Alice Springs Resort are all nearby.

The Northern Territory Convention Bureau (NTCB) provides a comprehensive list of special event suggestions for organisers. In Alice Springs, a good choice would be pre-dinner drinks or a cocktail party amongst the exhibits at the Museum of Central Australia. The museum showcases and interprets the regionís spectacular environment, including replicas of prehistoric animals unearthed at local palaeontological digs.

VOYAGE TO ADVENTURE

In September, Voyages Alice Springs Resort became the only hotel in the city to offer guests a wireless Internet hotspot. This follows on from a $2.2 million upgrade to the property, which included a new restaurant and bar.

Voyages, which operates a number of prime wilderness and island resorts in the Northern Territory and Queensland, was the big winner at the 2004 Brolga Awards for Tourism Excellence announced late last year. Voyages took out the accommodation awards in the Standard, Deluxe and Luxury classes, including a win for the Sails In The Desert hotel at Uluru.

Another Voyages property, the Kings Canyon Resort, is currently carrying out a refurbishment of its budget rooms. The resort is located just seven kilometres from Watarrka National Park, the home of Kings Canyon, and is three hours drive from Ayers Rock and four hours from Alice Springs. The resort, a great pre or post-conference stay, has 128 hotel-style rooms and 36 budget lodge rooms, including deluxe spa suites with a magnificent outlook onto a rocky escarpment that is lit at night.

LARGE SCALE EVENTS

In October, chief minister of the Northern Territory, Clare Martin, took the media on an advance tour of the governmentís display office for the $1 billion Darwin City Waterfront project. The office houses a detailed model, information panels and video images to clearly show the many dynamics of project.

Stage one includes a Convention and Exhibition Centre, public spaces, swimming areas, wave pool, sea wall, residential apartments, a serviced apartment hotel, restaurants, cafes, retail space and an Avenue of Honour connecting the city waterfront with the Smith Street Mall. The preferred developer for the project includes amongst its consortium partners Ogden IFC as operator of the new Darwin Convention & Exhibition Centre. Ogden IFC already manages the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, the Cairns Convention Centre and the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre due to open later this year.

ìStage one of the Darwin City Waterfront project is expected to be completed by the end of 2007, at an estimated cost of $250 million, with further stages expected to be completed over the next 10 to 15 years at an overall cost of $1 billion,î Martin says.

GREAT VENUES

The NTCB has also announced the first major conference booked for the new Darwin Centre: the 2008 International Association of Women Police Conference will attract 700 delegates from around the world over six nights.

Amongst the special event suggestions offered by the NTCB for Darwin is a 1940s Andrews Sisters theme night at the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre. Situated in a massive aircraft hanger, it is operated by the Aviation Historical Society of the Northern Territory and features such exhibits as a Japanese Zero fighter shot down in 1942, and one of only two USAF B-52 bombers on display outside the United States.

The Australian College of Health Service Executives chose the Australian Aviation Heritage Centre for their congress gala dinner in July last year, when local band, The Sublimes, recreated the Andrews Sisters for the retro-themed event.

EATING UP THE OUTBACK

Dine-arounds at the many Darwin restaurants are also popular for conference groups. The Boardwalk at Cullen Bay has some 15 restaurants to choose from, featuring such menus as seafood, Chinese, Greek and Japanese. Other options are an event at the Batchelor Butterfly and Bird Sanctuary outside Darwin and close to the Litchfield National Park.

The SKYCITY Darwin, which was re-branded from the MGM Grand Darwin last year, is showing considerable activity in the conference market. Located three kilometres outside the CBD, the beachfront property has the only licensed casino in Darwin. Some $19 million has already been spent on refurbishment in recent years and, with a range of facilities including a grand ballroom seating up to 400 people theatre style, it continues to be a major player.

The InterContinental Hotels Group is the largest accommodation and meetings operator in Darwin, with Holiday Inn Esplanade Darwin, Holiday Inn Darwin and Crowne Plaza Darwin, which has six conference rooms and 763 square metres of meetings and function space. In the midst of the world-renowned Kakadu National Park, InterContinental Hotels also operates the reptile-shaped Gagudju Crocodile Holiday Inn, with 110 guestrooms and conference facilities for up to 200 people theatre style.