Multi-million dollar walking and mountain bike trails were fully unveiled at Nitmiluk Gorge last Friday afternoon.
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The 20 kilometre stretch of new trails were designed in collaboration with Jawoyn Traditional Owners and are part of $15.4 million worth of upgrades at Nitmiluk National Park.
A new jetty and the Baruwei Lookout were also built and unveiled with the new trails, which were partially opened in 2020.
The upgrades are designed to bring more tourists to the region as they chase outdoor and adventure experiences in the Northern Territory.
This includes 270,000 yearly visitors to Nitmiluk National Park, according to NT Government figures.
Jawoyn Association Aboriginal Corporation chairwoman Lisa Mumbin said Traditional Owners are excited to share their country with tourists and local visitors via the trails.
"It's an honour to be here today," she said.
"This marks one of the historic occasions for Jawoyn people, and it does mean a lot to us... we're sharing our country with everybody. "
Ms Mumbin described the trails as an "opportunity" for Jawoyn people to collaborate with the NT Government on tourism strategies on their country.
She said the opportunity extends to future employment for the park's Traditional Owners through ongoing maintenance works on the new trails.
"The opportunity is still going... to make something better not only for us but for the future generation that is coming."
Parks and Rangers minister Selena Uibo attended the opening and said the trails should help with the ongoing rebuild of the Katherine tourism industry after the pandemic affected year in 2020.
She said the NT Tourism Vouchers program is also assisting in the recovery, with some Katherine tourism operators reporting an unusually busy wet season in part due to the vouchers.
"It's been a pretty tough twelve months for many tourism operators," Ms Uibo said.
"When we're seeing infrastructure upgrades and new developments and opportunities like the mountain bike trails, they're different ways to explore and attract visitors to the park."
Ms Uibo also spoke about the government's Regional Destination Management Plan for the Big Rivers.
She said the plan is intended to simplify holiday planning for visitors to attractions in the region such as local art, cultural experiences and adventure tourism.
"For example the arts trail, Katherine is the natural hub in terms of being a town centre," she said.
"[It's focused on] where are the places you can stay, what are the processes in terms of applying for permits to travel to Aboriginal communities... how can we explore a bit of symmetry so people can realise the many different options."
The Nitmiluk mountain bike trails have been described as "world class" by the Katherine Multisport Club, which rides in the national park every week.
Club president Cameron Judson has said there are hundreds of keen bikers around the NT who will visit Katherine to use the trails.
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