People planning a visit to Uluru in central Australia could buy
worldwide travel insurance, but climbing the landmark could soon be banned.
The red sandstone Unesco World Heritage site is sacred to Aboriginal tribes in the region and they have long opposed tourists climbing the landmark more commonly known as Ayers Rock.
Since the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was regained by local Aborigines nearly 25 years ago, the plan is to phase out climbing of the rock - a tourist favourite - over the course of the next ten years.
The draft management plan for the site reads: "For visitor safety, cultural and environmental reasons the director and the board [of the park] will work toward closure of the climb."
A ban would be phased in over the course of the next decade in order to give the local tourism industry time to develop alternative activities for visitors to the region, so backpackers with
online travel insurance will still be able to climb for the immediate future.
Uluru is one of the defining images of Australia, along with the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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