Two world-class mountain bikers have taken on the trails around Alice Springs and Darwin, showcasing them to a global audience of thousands of committed mountain bikers through Pinkbike.com.
Established in 1998, Pinkbike.com is the largest mountain bike community in the world with more than 23 million mountain bikers visiting the site every year. Pinkbike’s Facebook page has more than 378,000 followers, while its YouTube account has more than 210,000 subscribers.
Tourism NT worked with Pinkbike.com to bring US-born, Holland-raised Bas van Steenbergen and Canadian Vaea Verbeeck to the Territory to try out our trails. The resulting destination feature on Pinkbike.com is a stunning tribute to the NT, with the riders testing out trails in both the Red Centre and the Top End. A YouTube video of the adventure featuring breathtaking drone footage of Territory landscapes and incredible action shots attracted almost 13,000 views in just five days.
Mountain biking is a growing area of interest in the Territory, and the Territory Government is investing in new mountain bike trails and developing existing trails through the Turbocharging Tourism initiative. This includes the Red Centre Adventure Ride, which will see more than 200km of tracks link Alice Springs Desert Park to Glen Helen in Tjoritja/West MacDonnell National Park, creating a unique trail adventure for riders of all levels. It is expected to be completed in 2020.
View the YouTube video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hwtq8V2AFM
Quotes from the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Culture, Lauren Moss:
“We are excited to partner with Pinkbike to showcase the Territory’s unique bike tracks to the world.
“The Territory Labor Government is investing in mountain biking across the Territory, particularly in the Red Centre through the Turbocharging Tourism stimulus package.
“With mountain biking and adventure tourism growing in popularity, the new tracks are expected to attract thousands of additional visitors to Central Australia, injecting more money into the local economy, as well as creating new jobs and new business opportunities.”
Quotes from Tourism NT Executive General Manager Marketing, Tony Quarmby:
“Targeted campaigns such as this promote the Territory to a worldwide audience and, when we focus on a specific market – in this case mountain bikers – we reach people who perhaps would not have otherwise come across a story about the NT.
“Pinkbike’s top audiences are located in the USA, Canada and the UK, and on average users earn $100,000 a year, with 2.25 million of them spending an average $1,800 on bike-specific travel each year.
“More than three million mountain bikers visit Pinkbike channels every month and we have already seen the Territory mountain biking feature reach thousands of people.
“The coverage includes other tourist attractions too, including Uluru-Kata Tjuta, Litchfield and Nitmiluk National Parks and Crocosaurus Cove, and events that attract people to the Territory, such as the Outback Cycling Easter and The Redback mountain bike events. Even our military history gets a mention.”
Media Contact: Trish Grimshaw 0401 119 242