Tourism operators flee Alice Springs amid claims fewer tourists flying into region than at height of pandemic

For the past 10 years, tourism operator Filippo Gelada has dedicated his life to promoting Alice Springs. Key points: Outback Elite Tours is the latest Alice Springs tour operator leaving the region due to crime Director Filippo Gelada says the decision came after his vehicle was vandalised, and wife assaulted Central Australia's peak tourism body says seat numbers on flights to Alice Springs have dropped to pandemic levels "When you go to a place and you can't even go for a nice walk after dinner because it's unsafe — why should I tell people to come?" Tourism Central Australia's Danial Rochford says the number of seats on flights into Alice Springs has dropped to 2020 levels. Tourism Central Australia chief executive Danial Rochford has revealed the number of seats on flights into Alice Springs have plummeted to levels seen in the middle of the pandemic. When asked by the ABC about Mr Rochford's claims of spiralling seat numbers, NT Tourism Minister Nicole Manison pointed to the number of flights, not seats, coming to Alice Springs.