The Manager of the Goldfields Hotel was not a happy camper this week when a customer emailed him the latest Tourism Central Australia (TCA) Dining Guide publicised on its website to promote restaurants and cafés in the central NT region.
The guide, which was forwarded to the Tennant Times by a resident, only features the Sporties Club Steak and Grill and Devils Marbles Hotel in the pubs, clubs and taverns section, and no mention of local cafés and takeaway outlets in the takeaway section.
To top it off, the sole two Barkly dining outlets were in the fray of 32 Alice Springs outlets.
Manager Jason Groves says the Goldies has been a member of TCA for around a decade, and the latest offering from the tourism organisation is just another stab in the back for Barkly hospitality.
He says other TCA members Bluestone Motor Inn and Threeways Roadhouse were also omitted.
“When I saw the ‘guide’, I was pissed and immediately thought ‘this is just the usual TCA’ forgetting about us,” said Jason.
“The Barkly seems to be the Bermuda Triangle of the Territory – forget the Berrimah Line – it should be the Capricorn Line – everything north of Alice is forgotten about.
“The TCA is all about promoting tourists to fly to Central Australia to see ‘the rock’ or have a rock thrown at them.”
Jason says the TCA failed to consult with its members before the guide’s release.
TCA CEO Danial Rochford said the Dining Guide had always been for standalone restaurants, cafés and club members, however member accommodation businesses had to pay additional fees to promote their dining experience.
“Not all accommodation members have taken up that option, and this is why Goldfields was omitted from this document,” said Mr Rochford.
“That said, we have had a change to our membership structure with changes to our membership benefits recently.
“To reflect this change, and upon review, I think it is appropriate to develop a new dining guide that reflects all our members that have a restaurant/café/eatery broken down into location around our region.
“We have not printed any dining guides thus far so this can easily be rectified.”
Mr Rochford said if any hospitality venues not with the TCA wish to be showcased in this guide and take advantage of all the other membership benefits, he encourages them to join up.
“To support more cafés, restaurants and retail businesses joining TCA, the Tourism Central Australia Board recently reduced its annual membership for these businesses from $450 down to $295 per year,” he said.
“TCA is proud to be the largest industry association in Central Australia and the Barkly with over 350 members and will always welcome feedback as we continue to improve the way we support our region and our members.”
This article appeared in Tennant & District Times, 28 April 2023.
