The heart of Australia – impressive and inspiring for business events

If you’re in search of a destination for your next business event that breaks the mould and delivers experiences found nowhere else in the world, prepare to be pleasantly surprised by what Alice Springs and Uluru have to offer. In the heart of Australia, lies a living cultural landscape dating back over 65,000 years, brimming with inspiring stories and breathtaking scenery, where the vastness of the outback soothes the soul and fuels new ways of thinking. With an abundance of services and facilities ready to cater for events of all kinds, the Red Centre is a dream location for conference and incentive groups.

Things to do – Aboriginal culture & art, outdoor activities, nature & wildlife, technical touring

Working with the NT Business Events, the activities and experiences available to business event groups are limited only by your imagination. From sunset camel rides through the desert, to learning traditional painting methods from local Aboriginal artists, this region is rich with spectacular culture, innovative thinking and entrepreneurial spirit to enhance and enrich your next business event.

Alice Springs

  • Visit an Aboriginal art gallery like Yubu Napa Art Gallery and Mbantua Fine Art Gallery to see and buy ethically sourced Central Australian Aboriginal art or organise a dot painting workshop with Tangentyere Artists. Hear how Drum Atweme is keeping culture alive by engaging with young Aboriginal people through music. 
  • Stretch your legs and open your mind to outdoor activities unique to the Red Centre. Experience the silence and solitude of hot air ballooning over the desert at sunrise. Cycle through the outback from Alice Springs to the historic Alice Springs Telegraph Station. Relax aboard a camel on safari. Or try something quirky with a round of desert golf.
  • Learn about endangered desert mammals and what is being done to protect them, see mighty birds of prey in flight and discover clever adaptations that enable plants and animals to survive in the desert at the Alice Springs Desert Park. Home to an abundance of Central Australian wildlife, this centre is well equipped to cater for group activities, offering bespoke tours and dining experiences. For 10 days in April, the Desert Park is also home to the spectacular Parrtjima – A Festival in Light featuring illuminated art installations, cultural workshops and Indigenous imagery which blankets the McDonnell Ranges in brilliant colour each night.
  • Learn how people of the Red Centre have overcome isolation with innovation. See teachers and students defying distance as they connect via virtual classrooms at the Alice Springs School of the Air Visitor Centre. At its museum and tourist facility, appreciate the life-changing medical care the Royal Flying Doctor Service provides to isolated Australians. Immerse yourself in a bush balm making workshop and learn about the vital work Purple House is doing in Aboriginal health care. And connect with innovative thinkers and leaders in their field at the Desert Knowledge Precinct.

Uluru

  • Participate in an Aboriginal dot-painting workshop with local Anangu artists at the Maruku Arts Gallery at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre. Learn the stories and meaning behind paintings and wooden carvings, hand-crafted by Aboriginal artists from across Central Australia. Spend an evening immersed in a Field of Light, an outdoor art installation featuring 50,000 delicate, solar-powered lights, forming a life-like web that blankets the sand dunes in colour. 
  • Put everything in perspective and see Uluru from the air on a scenic flight or incorporate helicopter transfers into your program for a truly exciting experience. Back on the ground, you set the pace – take an exhilarating motorcycle tour, a majestic camel tour or a leisurely outback cycling tour around Uluru. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park also offers a Ranger Guided Mala Walk around the base of the rock, sharing information about traditional Anangu culture, rock art and park management.
  • Learn about the positive initiatives engaging young people at Nyangatjatjara College, an Anangu college providing secondary education across three remote Aboriginal communities. Help in their vegetable garden as part of a CSR contribution. Gain a deeper understanding of the Indigenous training and development opportunities on offer through the National Indigenous Training Academy with Voyages Indigenous Tourism.
Cultural experience with Maruku Arts

Contemporary dining experiences and exquisite offsite venues

The Red Centre is home to some of the most remote yet magnificent dining experiences in Australia, combining warm smiles with spectacular scenery and fresh local ingredients with world-class chefs.

Alice Springs

Watch the sun set over the desert from the verandah of The Homestead at Ooraminna Station while you enjoy a cocktail with colleagues and reflect on the days’ events. Sample fresh local cuisine in an impressive outdoor setting at The Old Quarry, where local musicians provide mesmerising digeridoo and vocal performances against the backdrop of the rocky escarpment. Or view the night sky from a different perspective at The Earth Sanctuary Observatory with an astronomy talk and gourmet BBQ dinner under the stars.

Get up close with local wildlife during dinner in the Nocturnal House at the Alice Springs Desert Park. Step back in time and be immersed in the history of the Alice Springs Telegraph Station where business groups can dine in the exclusive heritage precinct. While in Alice Springs itself, Lasseters Casino offers diverse dining options for business events, as does the award-winning, Asian-fusion inspired Hanuman Restaurant located at DoubleTree by Hilton.

Uluru

Be transported to another world atop a remote and secluded desert sand dune for champagne and bush tucker inspired canapes at Tali Wiru. See Uluru bathed in the sunset light, then savour a gourmet 4-course fine-dining experience under a canopy of stars. For the ultimate incentive experience, helicopters transfers are available upon request.

Another iconic Red Centre dining experience which will leave you inspired and transformed is Sounds of Silence. It begins with canapes and chilled champagne served at sunset with views of Uluru, followed by a 3-course bush tucker inspired buffet, a digeridoo performance and guided tour of the night sky. Arrangements can be made to arrive at this event on camel-back, for an unparalleled desert experience.

For a more grass-roots dining experience, learn how trainees at the National Indigenous Training Academy are developing their hospitality skills preparing delicious food and drinks at the Kulata Academy Café.

Dinning at Ooraminna Station Homestead

World class conference facilities

Holding an event in the Red Centre does not mean you have to go without when it comes to modern technology and inspiring spaces. In fact, this region offers some of the most contemporary and exciting conference facilities in the country.

Alice Springs

With an extensive network of local suppliers and conference partners, the Alice Springs Convention Centre is a purpose-built facility with state-of-the-art technology and contemporary design. The DoubleTree by Hilton Alice Springs offers five dedicated meeting rooms with outdoor break out options, plus on-site audio-visual services. 

Uluru

Leave a lasting impression by hosting your business event at Ayers Rock Resort’s Meeting Place. With two large ballrooms, an outdoor amphitheatre, indoor and outdoor meeting spaces and breakout options, and full in-house audio-visual and creative services, The Meeting Place is a world-class facility.

The Red Centre delivers

With its thriving Aboriginal culture, spectacular desert landscape and with world-class accommodation, dining and conference facilities, the Red Centre is perfectly positioned to leave a long-lasting and meaningful impression on your conference or incentive group. For help incorporating the best of this region into your business event, contact the NT Business Events.