The outback, heritage sites and Aboriginal culture – that’s generally what comes to mind when people think of Northern Territory tourism.
But hold onto your hats, because the Top End’s travel leaders have found a new way to reel in more tourists… fishing.
Tourism NT is tapping into the popularity of the sport by hosting its Million Dollar Fish for a second season.
The Million Dollar Fish is a fishing competition where 101 barramundi are tagged with a cash amount and them thrown back into fishing locations around the NT for fishermen to find.
One fish will carry a whopping one million dollar prize tag, and the other 100 will be worth around $10,000 each. Plus there’s an extra $160,000 worth of bonus prizes. So that means there’s around $2,160,000 up for grabs – fishing suddenly sounds a whole lot more interesting.
Registrations for the October event have already opened, but NT Tourism is ‘pitching’ that the competition will attract more visitors than last year’s 25,800 domestic arrivals.
“The Million Dollar Fish competition is timed to influence travel to the Top End during our low season from October to February.”
Adam Giles, Minister for Tourism
“Last year’s competition generated spin-off benefits for local businesses, with marine dealers reporting a boom in outboard motor servicing, servos selling more fuel and tackle shops and fishing tour operators reporting increases in business.
“Season Two will have a strong focus to encourage anglers to stay, play and fish in our regions like Arnhem Land, Kakadu and Katherine which all offer incredible fishing.”
Special “Insider Tips” videos featuring well-known Northern Territory fishing identity, Alex Julius, have been created to give competitors the best chance of catching a tagged barra.
The additional bonus prizes for Season Two include five HelloWorld holidays to five different regions in the Northern Territory flying Qantas, a Jayco Camper Trailer with fridges, Shimano and BCF Fishing Tackle, JMGilles Classic Lures, Accor Hotels for Le Club points, Qantas flights, XXXX GOLD cartons and a fishing charter.
The bonus sponsor prizes will be drawn monthly from July 2016 to February 2017.
“This means everyone who registers will have the chance to win prizes right up until the end of the season, even if they weren’t able to find a tagged fish,” Giles added.
Click here for more information.
