Tourism is down in the upper half of the country, with Darwin’s Lord Mayor hoping some highway and hotel upgrades might draw more people up to NT.

Visitors are being warned that a massive expansion in mining and exploration activities is making the Territory somewhat wilder than normal – bordering on the downright dangerous.

Darwin’s Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim says with some businesses struggling just to get by as tourist numbers dwindle, problems of minimal accommodation and ongoing highway upgrades are really not helping.

Lord Mayor Katrina Fong Lim says: “Hotels are booked, fully booked and a lot [are] actually booked up with people who are working in the city, taking accommodation, tourist accommodation that would normally go to tourists... it's an indication that the city is developing, and having an economic boom.”

“There is a lot of development being planned to try and bring on more housing, more affordable housing... hopefully, that might pick up some of these workers who are flying in,” she said.

It may be hard to capture the tourist dollar for NT and the Top End, but resource companies are shovelling cash into the region. The Sherwin Iron firm alone is sending 24 road trains per day along the 470km stretch of Savannah Way and Stuart Highway between its Roper bar site and the Port of Darwin.

Once-popular tourist routes are being inundated with the massive rigs. Upgrades have been undertaken for several parts of the Roper Highway in the next few months. A special warning has been made for visitors to the Northern Territory or any mining-heavy area; approach all bridges, bends and blind corners with extreme caution – wary of the enormous trucks which now so often share the roads.