Uluru climb ban dropped

Tourists planning holidays to Australia may be interested to know that plans to ban climbing Uluru have been dropped.

People booking flights to Australia may be pleased to learn that the Uluru climb will remain open.

The federal government in the Northern Territory has abandoned its plans to close the climb on the famous landmark.

A draft plan for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta national park that was released earlier in the year advised that climbing the rock be gradually phased out.

Australian National Parks made the recommendation as it believes the activity is disrespectful to the indigenous community who officially own Uluru and because of environmental concerns.

The initial draft of the plan was met with hostility by tourism operators in the area and the Australian prime minister also expressed his sorrow at the news that the Uluru climb was to close.

Tourism Central Australia claimed that more than 80 per cent of its members wanted to continue to offer the climb to visitors in the region.

Written by Nicholas Scott