One of Australia’s top tourism attractions is to be closed to visitors because its Aboriginal owners reckon it is sacred ground.
Parks Australia announced Wednesday that Uluru, formerly Ayers Rock, would likely be off-limits by October 2011.
There are around 350,000 visitors a year to Uluru, 440km south of Alice Springs, around a third of whom vote with their feet and climb the 347-meter monolith.
Traditional owners have long urged visitors to make do with looking at the giant sandstone rock rather than climbing it during their trips.
The imposing rock, Australia’s most photographed physical feature, sits in a dead-flat plain in the center of the continent.
“For visitor safety, cultural and environmental reasons, the director and the board will work towards closure of the climb,” a Parks Australia management plan states.
Tour operators in far north Australia have complained that transferring ownership of land to indigenous people often means tourists are not allowed to visit or are charged exorbitant entry fees.
Alice Springs is reliant on the tourist trade and any reduction in arrivals would affect its economy. Many budget travelers who can’t afford to fly to Uluru travel by bus from Alice Springs. (DPA)
澳洲最著名的旅遊景點之一即將對外關閉，因為這塊土地被其原住民地主奉為聖地。
澳洲公園管理處上週三宣佈，「烏魯魯」（昔稱艾爾斯岩）可能於二Ｏ一一年十月對外關閉。
烏魯魯位在愛麗斯泉南方四百四十公里處，每年到此的遊客約有三十五萬人次，其中有約三分之一的遊客不顧勸告，爬上這座三百四十七公尺高的巨石。
長久以來，這塊土地的傳統擁有者一直力勸遊客到此觀光時，從遠處欣賞就好，不要爬上這塊巨大砂岩。
這塊氣勢雄偉的岩石是澳洲最常出現在照片中的自然景觀，它坐落於澳洲大陸中部一片單調無生氣的平原上。
一份澳洲公園管理處的管理計畫聲明：「基於遊客安全及文化、環境等因素考量，公園管理處處長和委員會將致力於終止攀爬活動。」
澳洲最北部的旅行業者抱怨，將土地移轉給原住民，往往意味著不開放給遊客參觀，或是要收取過高的入場費。
愛麗斯泉十分仰賴觀光客帶來的商機，觀光人次減少將對當地經濟造成衝擊。許多預算有限、無法負擔直飛烏魯魯機票的遊客，都會選擇從愛麗斯泉搭巴士前往烏魯魯。（德通社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
>> Bilingual Story is a fictionalized account 雙語故事部分內容純屬虛構
You enter an old-fashioned detective’s office. The door locks with a click as a radio buzzes: “Rookie detectives, a priceless diamond is missing! Solve the case in one hour.” The room is filled with clues — photographs, coded messages and secret compartments. As the grandfather clock ticks, you and your friends must work to unlock the secrets. This is what escape rooms are all about — immersive adventure games where you solve puzzles and escape the themed setting within a time limit. The concept of “escape rooms” dates back to early first-person video games. In 1988, John Wilson introduced
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