Indigenous tourism puts outback Queensland skies on global stage
There is a part of the world where sprawling red plains neighbour waterfalls surrounded by lush, green bushland and morning glory clouds sweep across a seemingly infinite sky.
Tucked away in the Gulf of Carpentaria there are many drawcards for tourists across the globe.
But the region, which takes in the community of Burketown, has been rocked in recent years by back-to-back flooding events and COVID-19 isolation wreaking havoc on its tourism industry.
Now, an Indigenous-owned business operated by the Gangalidda and Garawa people is working to break through the adversity and make their home a must visit destination again.
Lurick Sowden manages Yagurli Tours, one of the first entirely Indigenous-run tourism businesses in the Gulf.
While top tourist rankings are subjective, Mr Sowden said visiting global pilots equate Burketown to one of the most scenic hot air balloon destinations in the world after Switzerland and Japan.
"We take them out onto Australia's largest aggregate of salt pan, which everyone drives past. They might not even know it's here," he said.
"It's very, very special."
It has not been all clear blue skies for the tourism operation.
Mr Sowden said there had been "two standard years" since the business opened in 2016.
The rest were littered with struggle.
In early 2023 the Gulf endured its largest flood in a decade, isolating the region for more than three months before ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily barrelled through less than 12 months later with further flooding.
"At the moment the roads are all open, Burketown is accessible," Mr Sowden said.
Outback Queensland is a road-heavy tourist area — rail lines are virtually non-existent, and expensive flights are few and far between.
As the regions rely on visiting grey nomads and caravan travellers alike, having accessible and open roads is key for tourism to flourish.
"We're kind of back on track for just a normal year. Everything's kind of settled down and we're ready to go," Mr Sowden said.
With almost 100 more visitors than last year, Mr Sowden hopes 2025 is the year things are turned around.
"We should be in for a big year and a lot more people travelling around," he said.
It is not just this pocket of Queensland feeling the pinch.
Outback Queensland Tourism Association (OQTA) chief executive Denise Brown said the domestic tourist season had been slow off the mark across the state in 2025, with regional and rural regions bearing the brunt.
In the OQTA's most recent annual report, operators reported the slowest start to the tourism season in four years with numbers down by 20 to 30 per cent compared to 2023.
But it is not all doom and gloom.
While recent devastating western Queensland floods stopped travellers heading north in their tracks, roads have begun to reopen.
In tandem, visitor numbers across May and June have picked up.
"Certainly, our challenges are always to have access, and our number one access is roads," Ms Brown said.
Ms Brown said OQTA was working alongside tourism advocates and governments to show the country why they should trek to the outback.
"The areas that we're focusing on is the colours of the beautiful landscapes, the green rolling carpet and the bird life," she said.
While weather events might have washed away some of the country, Ms Brown said outback residents were as resilient as the landscapes and wanted to showcase their part of the world.
"Indigenous tourism is really important to the whole of Queensland and that's certainly a pillar," she said.
"Out of disaster comes amazing opportunities, the rebirthing of nature.
"That is the opportunity to see the outback as you'll never see in the next 10 years."
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