Kakadu on the national stage
- Written by Adam Giles
Darwin 18 May 2015. The Territory Government is partnering with popular national breakfast television program, The TODAY Show, to bring Kakadu into the living rooms of hundreds of thousands of Australians.
“In an Australian first, the TODAY Show will broadcast an entire show live from Kakadu National Park next Monday, showcasing this amazing park on national television,” Chief Minister Adam Giles said.
Monday’s special outside broadcast from 5.30 to 9.30 am is part of Tourism NT’s new national Kakadu campaign which was launched by the Chief Minister last week.
“It will be fantastic to have TODAY show hosts Karl Stefanovic, Richard Wilkins and official ‘Mate of the Territory’, Lisa Wilkinson in the Top End for the live broadcast,” Mr Giles said.
Pre-filmed segments including Karl and Lisa on the famous Jumping Crocodile Cruise at Adelaide River, as well as aerial helicopter touring shots of Kakadu National Park and various highlights including Ubirr Rock Art Gallery and Maguk Gorge will also be featured during the four hour broadcast.
“The TODAY Show visit will encourage viewers to follow in Karl and Lisa’s footsteps and do Kakadu too,” Mr Giles said.
The live broadcast is a huge operation that will involve 30 crew and equipment being trucked into Kakadu.
“Kakadu is Australia's largest national park home to ancient land with aboriginal rock art, spectacular landscapes, waterfalls and exotic wildlife,” Mr Giles said.
“This broadcast will leave The TODAY Show’s 300 000 thousand daily viewers in no doubt that Kakadu is an accessible, must-do holiday destination. We hope the broadcast will help increase interstate visitors to Kakadu and the Top End, providing flow-on benefits to local businesses and operators.”
The TODAY Show crew are excited about their Top End adventure, which will be their first stop on a week-long tour around Australia.
“We just love taking our viewers to the NT. It’s such a magical place, and we can’t think of anywhere better to kick off our big week travelling across this great nation,” The TODAY Show Executive Producer Mark Calvert said.
The ‘There’s So Much to Kakadu’ campaign is running around Australia until 7 June to coincide with the start of the Top End dry season.
The campaign has a dedicated microsite (www.kakadu.travelnt.com) which shows videos, regional maps, itineraries, and activities you can do in Kakadu.
“A key focus of the campaign is highlighting Darwin and Katherine as key gateways points to Kakadu in order for visitors to extend their holiday to other parts of the Top End,” Mr Giles said.
This initiative is part of the Government’s plan to drive the development of North Australia and build a $2.2 billion visitor economy by 2020
