Today Tonight trashes Alice

Saturday, 03 May, 2007 0

Central Australia’s tourism authority has condemned a report by Channel Seven’s Today Tonight, saying it will devastate Alice Spring’s upcoming tourist season, with Craig Catcholove, Manager of the Central Australian Tourism Industry Association, told the Northern Territory News that report which aired this week portrayed the town unfairly.

Today Tonight described Alice Springs as a city of sin, where residents were too scared to leave their homes and labelled it the “murder capital of Australia”, but Catcholove said the report didn’t mention the effective new anti-crime programs supported police, government and the community.

“Police are making foot patrols and this has really tackled the youth gang issue head-on,” he said.

Tourism NT is on the verge of unveiling the biggest ever Central Australia tourism campaign at the cost of $2 million but Catcholove said all that work and money had now been wasted.

“We now have had caravaners asking us what time they should lock themselves in so they won’t get bashed,” he said.

“Convention visitors are calling to see if it is still safe to come — we are very worried about it.”

Catcholove stressed that visitors were safe in Alice Springs.

“Unfortunately, tourists will get hold of the ‘murder capital of Australia’ heading,” he said.

“We have our fingers crossed and we’re hoping that today’s news is tomorrow’s fish wrappers.”

Report by The Mole from ninemsn



 

profileimage

John Alwyn-Jones



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...