Can Alice Springs turn around its bad reputation? Council hopes so

In short:

The Alice Springs council is preparing a "change the narrative" strategy to help address the outback town's bad reputation.

The council's hope is to challenge the negative media and social media coverage the town has received, including that of a YouTube content creator who recently labelled it "absolutely mental".

Mayor Asta Hill says the strategy is not about glossing over the negatives, but telling people "the whole story" about Alice Springs.

Elected officials and tourism bodies in Alice Springs have been working to improve the town's reputation and counteract negative media and social media coverage.

Bruised by repeated waves of crime and unrest, the remote town was recently bagged by a travel influencer who labelled Alice Springs "absolutely mental".

Mayor Asta Hill said Alice Springs Town Council's "change the narrative" strategy focused on "getting more balanced stories out about the town".

"Reputation really matters. It has real consequences for people living here," Cr Hill said.

"It impacts our experience and the way that we experience the town. But it also impacts whether people decide to come and visit, whether they come and accept a job opportunity, whether they invest in a business or in the town more generally.

"So it's really important that we are telling the whole story about this town."

The council engaged an interstate public relations company to conduct an analysis of stories about Alice Springs, including news media, social commentary and even remarks made in Northern Territory and federal parliaments.

The study found 64 per cent of the analysed stories featured negative portrayals.

Bad reviews, rise of influencers

Growth in the number of content creators posting about the town online has further exacerbated the reputational issue, with several YouTubers sharing their thoughts on Alice Springs recently.

In a video posted to YouTube in May, travel influencer Simon Wilson documented his journey from Adelaide to Darwin on the Ghan luxury rail.

On arrival in Alice Springs he skipped formal tours and walked into town despite "a lot of people on the train" saying "they don't recommend going into Alice Springs alone" because there's "been some problems in the past".

As Mr Wilson walked around town, he observed quiet streets and shut shops, chatted with locals and discussed his impressions with candour.

"This place is absolutely mental," Mr Wilson said.

"That guy had a tag on his ankle as well.

"Honestly, I must have seen I've seen about 30 people with tags on their ankles.

"I tell you what, coming into this town has been an experience."

Loading...But it was his interactions on the Ghan, some of which were with staff, that raised concerns in a tourism industry already hit hard by a double-whammy of fuel and cost-of-living crises.

Ghan operator Journey Beyond did not answer the ABC's questions but stated "Alice Springs is a core part of The Ghan's journey and Journey Beyond's rail and touring operations", and "more than 30,000 guests experience Alice Springs annually".

Tourism Central Australia chief executive and Alice Springs town councillor Danial Rochford said he understood Journey Beyond staff had undertaken training and education following the issue.

"It's certainly sad to see our town presented in that manner but I also am very realistic that it was someone's impressions of a very short stay in our town," Cr Rochford said.

"It's certainly contrary to the views I hear day in, day out from our visitors who spend one or two days in this amazing place and have such a great experience."

He backs the council's decision to invest in a strategy that highlights positive stories about the town of approximately 25,000 people, which the mayor said would come from locals.

"This work is really about partnering with the people who do live here, who choose to stay here, who've had so many authentic stories to tell about what it's like being here," Cr Hill said.

"They're actually the credible voices, aren't they, about what it's like here because they know the place."

She insisted the strategy was not wallpapering over any cracks.

"I want to be really clear that this isn't about glossing over challenges," she said.

"People can express concerns, they can talk about challenges, but what we're trying to say is that's one part of the story and we want to tell the whole story."

Improving reputation needs to involve locals

Commentator and advertising creative director Dee Madigan said for any strategy to work it needed to be two-fold.

"Rebranding happens from the inside out and rebranding isn't what you say about yourselves, it's how people feel about you," Ms Madigan said.

"Changing the narrative only works when what's underneath is changed as well.

"You want people to start talking about Alice more positively. If you want to get the locals on board, and that is the best way to truly change the narrative, you have to make them feel that you are doing things as well."

Loading...She pointed to an example in a US city where reframing the narrative had worked.

"There was a city in Washington, I think it was called Congress Heights, and it was a predominantly African-American city with a lot of crime and a lot of problems," Ms Madigan said.

"They did rebrand it, but by really engaging with the community, and it became the City of Soul.

"They did it from the bottom up, if you like, rather than top down."

Loading...For local political commentator Rolf Gerritson it was about recognising that Alice Springs had a lot to offer alongside its complex social issues.

"Our rate of burglary is possibly higher and our rate of stealing cars is possibly higher than is common in south-eastern Australia, but it's a rate that's no different from right across remote Australia," Mr Gerritsen said.

"Alice Springs is a town where we have an unusually socially active group of young people coming here and running all sorts of associations and sporting bodies.

"That, culturally, in a broader Australian sense, is a very vibrant community.

"This is an amazingly interesting town. You'll meet all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds who are here doing really interesting things.

"If they [the council] reinforce those sorts of images then I think it's good.

"But if they're going to say 'we're all very peaceful and we're nice people and have little old ladies knitting' or something, then it's not going to work."