Economy
Alice Springs began as a service town to the pastoral industry that first came to the region. The introduction of the rail line increased its economy and productivity. Today the town services a region of 546,046 square kilometres (210,830 sq mi) and a regional population of 38,749. The region includes a number of mining and pastoral communities, the Joint Defence Space Research Facility at Pine Gap and tourist attractions at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Watarrka National Park and the MacDonnell Ranges.
The largest employer in Alice Springs is the Northern Territory Government, with 7.5% of employed people working in government administration, 6.6% in school education, and 3.7% in the Alice Springs Hospital. The economy of Alice is somewhat reliant on domestic and international tourism, with 3.8% of its workforce employed providing accommodation. It is home to the Northern Territory's largest dedicated travel organiser, Territory Discoveries, which employs over 50 full-time local staff members.
As well as Territory Discoveries, all major tour companies have a base in Alice Springs, including AAT Kings & APT, as well as numerous local operators, including Emu Run Tours, Anganu Waai! tours, Alice Wanderer and Wayoutback Desert Safaris, the only locally based Advanced Ecotourism Accredited operator.
Alice is home to numerous hotels, from the 4.5-star Lasseters Hotel Casino, to the backpacker standard Toddies Resort. Also, there are several caravan parks for the driving visitor.
A dispatch centre for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia operates here.
Read more about this topic: Alice Springs
Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“War. Fighting. Men ... every man in the whole realm is in the army.... Every man in uniform ... An economy entirely geared to war ... but there is not much war ... hardly any fighting ... yet every man a soldier from birth till death ... Men ... all men for fighting ... but no war, no wars to fight ... what is it, what does it mean?””
—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)
“I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. The men and women of this country who toil are the ones who bear the cost of the Government. Every dollar that we carelessly waste means that their life will be so much the more meager. Every dollar that we prudently save means that their life will be so much the more abundant. Economy is idealism in its most practical terms.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)