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Speaker 1: Real change of page right now, because we know we

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Speaker 1: are of course heading into Easter. I mean it's still

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Speaker 1: a little while away, but you're probably trying to get organized,

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Speaker 1: wondering what you're going to get up to, and we

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Speaker 1: also know that well Parcham in Alice Springs, the full

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Speaker 1: program has now been announced announced this morning. Joining me

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Speaker 1: on the line is the Tourism Central Australia CEO Daniel Rochford.

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Speaker 2: Good morning, Daniel, Good morning Katie, Good morning to you. Listen.

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Speaker 1: Oh mate, we're better to go for Easter than Central Australia.

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Speaker 2: It's going off like a frog and a sock here

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Speaker 2: in Alice Springs. Makes Troy Casterdaily course the mainline act

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Speaker 2: for this year's part of that. So yeah, we're really

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Speaker 2: excited by that.

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Speaker 1: I'm like a bit of country music. I'm a country

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Speaker 1: music fan. He's a great bloke, Troy Cassa Daily, So

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Speaker 1: that'll be awesome.

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Speaker 2: I think, yeah, absolutely, And it's a great event and

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Speaker 2: if you haven't been to it, it is one of

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Speaker 2: those ones that I highly encourage people to come and

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Speaker 2: visit so at least once. Is that it's such an

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Speaker 2: iconic experience.

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Speaker 1: So in terms of you know what is coming up.

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Speaker 1: I know that Pachama the program has indeed been released.

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Speaker 1: It looks like you've said, it's going to be a

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Speaker 1: once in a lifetime experience for anybody if it's your

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Speaker 1: first time getting there. A wonderful thing to try to

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Speaker 1: get to Alice springsboor to get to Central Australia to do.

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Speaker 1: What else can we expect as part of the Pachama program, Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Very different experiences. I think one of the new things

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Speaker 2: that they have on the program this year is a

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Speaker 2: comedy session section, which is going to be great. Some

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Speaker 2: great acts lining up there, got the Darwin Symphony Orchestra

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Speaker 2: coming down, and we also have you know, some of

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Speaker 2: the usual mainstays like lighting up of the West McDonald

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Speaker 2: Rangers and many of the workshops and programs that they

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Speaker 2: have during the course of Pajma. But of course it's

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Speaker 2: all about the lights and you know, to be able

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Speaker 2: to step through and you know, one of the great

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Speaker 2: things about Pajuma is you just as you walk through,

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Speaker 2: just experiencing each of the installation and just reflecting and

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Speaker 2: looking at the stories behind them.

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Speaker 1: How many do you know how many art installations it's

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Speaker 1: going to be this year? Is it going to be

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Speaker 1: bigger than last year. I guess no matter what, it's

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Speaker 1: so spectacular.

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Speaker 2: Isn't it. It's always a bit like the Olympics, isn't it, Katie?

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Speaker 2: That this year is going to be the best ever.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, of course I'll say that. But yeah, I

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Speaker 2: look the congratulations to all the guys at the normal

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Speaker 2: tertiy major events and the community and everyone that's involved

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Speaker 2: in part of me because it is such a big

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Speaker 2: event and it has had a lot of moving pieces.

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Speaker 2: It's such an important part of our tourism experience every year.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it truly is. I no moving into the new

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Speaker 1: tourism campaign launched this week, it's all about encouraging to

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Speaker 1: rest a road trip differently. Who is it specifically targeting? Oh?

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Speaker 2: Look, I think one of the challenges, as you and

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Speaker 2: I have spoken over recent months years, feeld like, is

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Speaker 2: you know that challenge that a lot of the especially Victorians,

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Speaker 2: which were traditionally our mainstay of our drive market, they

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Speaker 2: have not been coming as strongly as we have seen

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Speaker 2: over pre COVID era at times. Also some markets like

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Speaker 2: the New South Wales market. You know, we're encouraging people

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Speaker 2: to come and do something different, don't get away from

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Speaker 2: the coast and come up the guts of Australia and

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Speaker 2: come up to Central Australia and then on to the

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Speaker 2: top end and experience something different. And I guess ultimately

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Speaker 2: that's what this campaign is highlighting, is our difference as

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Speaker 2: opposed to just going around the coast.

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Speaker 1: Now in terms of you know that the drive market

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Speaker 1: it is absolutely vital. How do you reckon it's going

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Speaker 1: at the moment, because I mean, we all know the

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Speaker 1: issues that we've had in the past and what that

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Speaker 1: has meant not only to the drive market, but more generally,

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Speaker 1: how do you reckon the drive market? He's sort of

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Speaker 1: tracking along.

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Speaker 2: Well, we're hearing anecdotal feedback that this year is looking

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Speaker 2: more promising, but I guess the proof will be in

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Speaker 2: the pudding. You know. We were only talking to our

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Speaker 2: colleagues at the Gadat Parks the other day who were

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Speaker 2: saying that, because of course they've got a massive reach

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Speaker 2: around the country that they're seeing people starting to look

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Speaker 2: at booking Central Australia and the top end. So that's promising,

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Speaker 2: and certainly with some of the flooding and issues up

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Speaker 2: in the tropical North Queens Planned Area, I think a

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Speaker 2: lot of people are planning to go somewhere different and

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Speaker 2: were that difference, and again that's highlighting that we're different,

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Speaker 2: so which is part of this campaign. So look, I'm

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Speaker 2: hopeful that this year will be good. The proof will

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Speaker 2: of course be in the pudding. But we've got to

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Speaker 2: just throw everything at it to try and make twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty five's tourism to succeed them.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it needs to be. I know, there's so many

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Speaker 1: wonderful tourism operators in Central Australia that really need a

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Speaker 1: good year in terms.

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Speaker 2: You and I guess Katie on that. So we had

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Speaker 2: our Tourism Central Australia General meeting on Monday night and

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Speaker 2: it was a very passionate meeting and we had we

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Speaker 2: had operators at the microphone in tears underlying the importance

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Speaker 2: of of the reason why this has to be a

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Speaker 2: success this year because people are still very fragile.

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Speaker 1: Oh mate, that's sad, isn't it. Like it's heartbreaking for

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Speaker 1: some of those businesses how tough it's been, and it

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Speaker 1: does really really demonstrate the need to, you know, to

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Speaker 1: try to get people back to Central Australia.

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Speaker 2: Absolutely, and I think to be fair. A lot of

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Speaker 2: them were very concerned about the fact that as an industry,

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Speaker 2: you know, you and I have talked about this for

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Speaker 2: a long time that you know, we've been calling for

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Speaker 2: support for a long time, and there was a general

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Speaker 2: feeling from our industry that there's that care for support

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Speaker 2: is especially to our federal government and to the federal

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Speaker 2: opposition on deaf years at the moment, and you know,

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Speaker 2: we've there was a motion passed at that general meeting

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Speaker 2: to call upon both political parties at this a netcoming

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Speaker 2: federal election to do more for tourism in the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. Right, so that is something that you're obviously going

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Speaker 1: to be pushing for.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, well that's we're a membership driven organization, so that

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Speaker 2: has come from our membership. So a formal motion was

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Speaker 2: moved at our general meeting. There was one hundred and

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Speaker 2: fifty plus members present when that happened, and it was

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Speaker 2: voted unanimously.

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Speaker 1: Hey, Daniel, before I let you go, we know that

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Speaker 1: Quantus launched this seven day sale fare package each a

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Speaker 1: little earlier in the week. Is there much in it

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Speaker 1: for Central Australia?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, really good. Actually, we're really positive around it. You

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Speaker 2: know there's when we whenever we see affair with the

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Speaker 2: two in front of it, we get very excited in

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Speaker 2: Central Australia and there's quite a lot for that with twos,

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Speaker 2: but we're also excited too. I think you know, I've

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Speaker 2: always said Darwin's important for Central Australia. We you know,

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Speaker 2: to see I think it's six hundred dollars return Singapore Darwin.

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Speaker 2: You know that flight connects through into Central Australia, so

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Speaker 2: you know, as an international gateway, we want to see

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Speaker 2: Darwin flourish. And you know now Corners is flying that

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Speaker 2: Singapore service. You know, we're really keen to see the

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Speaker 2: opportunities that will come from that. So and yeah, I

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Speaker 2: think you know, certainly any time that we see Quanas

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Speaker 2: or Virgin put sales in place, we're very proactive to

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Speaker 2: let our community know about it and let the world

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Speaker 2: know to come to Central Australia.

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Speaker 1: Absolutely well, Daniel Rochford. Always wonderful to catch up with you, mate,

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for your time this morning.

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Speaker 2: Awesome mate, Thank you so much.

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Speaker 1: Thank you