A report in the Sun Herald says that Australia’s most expensive horror film, Rogue, which premiered in Darwin over the weekend, says tourism bosses predict that the movie’s killer croc star will attract visitors to the Northern Territory rather than frighten them off.
When Wolf Creek, the debut film from Rogue director Greg McLean, came out in 2005, the British media claimed it would do for Australia’s outback what Jaws did for swimming in the ocean, but backpacker visitors to Australia actually increased by 9per cent during the year after the film was released.
Rogue, which tells the story of an American travel writer’s encounter with a killer croc, is expected to prompt even more visits to Australia.
Tourism Top End president Sylvia Wolf said the prospect of dicing with danger, whether it’s with a mad murderer or a giant crocodile, appears to boost tourist numbers.
“Whenever we have a bad accident or somebody gets taken by a croc, it seems that the interest goes up,” she said.
Maree Tetlow, managing director of the Northern Territory Tourist Commission, also predicted an increase, saying, “Crocodiles and national parks are big attractions for visitors to the Northern Territory and potentially the movie will showcase both”.
Rogue, starring Michael Vartan, Radha Mitchell, Sam Worthington, Stephen Curry and John Jarratt, is due for national release in November.
Report by The Mole
