The Northern Territory Department of Trade, Business and Innovation (DTBI) sought an informed assessment of the market opportunity, commercial feasibility and expected economic benefits of expanding the luxury lodge offering in the Northern Territory. Working with GHD Advisory, we were appointed by the Northern Territory government to
- Prepare a Situation Analysis, featuring a full analysis of current NT luxury market data, determine unfulfilled demand for luxury lodges in the Northern Territory, benchmark relevant luxury lodges, conduct a course assessment of 21 potential regions, and then a detailed site assessment of 15 sites;
- Develop luxury lodge concept designs for two shortlisted sites;
- Prepare a business case covering financial and commercial feasibility assessment, potential barriers and constraints, as well as potential investment levers the NT Government could consider pursuing to maximise private sector investment
Ultimately, this project suggests that there is a market for a luxury lodge, and that there are several sites with propositions that would fit the competitive advantages of the NT, and unmet market needs. The development of a luxury lodge can be made feasible, providing government is prepared to offset some costs and in doing so, counter the strategic challenges of luxury lodge development in the NT. The proposed sites and their concepts would add significant competitive advantage to the NT visitor economy, and significant cultural and economic benefits to local Indigenous people.
