Escaping into the Kakadu wilderness, thousands of kilometres from east coast cities, has become an ever-more appealing holiday option for tourists after two years of border closures and lockdowns.
The demand for outback adventures has seen Danielle Mobbs' 4WD tour company booked out for 2022 and into next year.
But now, as diesel prices pass $2.50/L in parts of the Northern Territory, Ms Mobbs' business – with its heavy reliance on fuel – is facing an uncertain peak season.
"We can't turn around and say to them, 'oh, by the way, now you're going to have to pay a bit more because fuel prices have gone up'," Ms Mobbs said.
"We can't do that, so unfortunately, we're going to have to wear the extra cost of the fuel.
Katherine-based tour guide Denis Hannah, who sometimes drives up to 1,100 kilometres a day for work, said he was worried it would be another year running at a loss.
"Of course I'm concerned, everybody's concerned," Mr Hannah said.
"It's the single biggest cost, from a tour operator guide, the single biggest cost is fuel."
NT tourism industry bodies have said if high petrol prices prove to be a major deterrent for travellers, it could be devastating for the sector.
Tourism Top End general manager Glen Hingley said the territory needed to focus on "convincing" tourists to still travel north.
"[We need to] go back into market and be very focused, very targeted," Mr Hingley said.
"People are coming here to experience 65,000 years of uninterrupted living culture, they want to get out on country and experience it."
The NT’s tourism industry – weeks away from the start of its peak season – is now one of many sectors across the territory bracing for the impact of the petrol price jump.
Grocery price rises near inevitable
Palmerston supermarket owner Shelly Lay said she was bracing for a sharp increase in freight charges and warned grocery prices could rise by as much as 10 per cent.
"Freight is always a massive [cost], so we will try to absorb as much as we can but it will get to a point where everybody will be passing on those costs," Ms Lay said.
NT Road Transport Association executive officer Louise Bilato agreed.
"I think we will see an increase across the board in all of the things that we buy, without a doubt," Ms Bilato said.
"And I'm actually hopeful that we do see those price rises because if we don't, I'm very concerned that we'll see transport operators going out of business."
Remote Territorians likely to be worst affected
Community advocates and the freight industry have warned the Northern Territory could be one of the places in the country hardest hit by rising petrol prices.
Ms Bilato said with its vast size and many small communities, the NT was "extremely reliant" on fuel and vulnerable to any changes in its price.
"We see that time and again, whenever there is a price hike, obviously, our remote areas have a much more significant jump because that fuel has to be transported to those locations as well," she said.
NT Council of Social Service (NTCOSS) policy manager Sarah Holder said with some of the highest levels of poverty in Australia, especially in regional and remote areas, any cost of living increases would be a blow for vulnerable territorians.
"Those households [that] are managing on tight budgets don't have the extra money to be able to absorb the costs of unexpected increases in the cost of living," Ms Holder said.
She said if there were price increases on everyday items, disadvantaged territorians may have to make some "really difficult choices".
"It might mean they are unable to run their air conditioners, because they can't afford the already high price of energy," she said.
Calls for government action to relieve price pressure
In response to the crisis, NTCOSS is calling for the federal government to ease cost of living pressures beyond cutting fuel prices.
"It can do that by doing things like raising incomes, including through permanently increasing the rate of JobSeeker and Youth Allowance, and also substantially increasing the remote area allowance, which hasn't actually increased in over 20 years," Ms Holder said.
Meanwhile, the NT Road Transport Association wants to see the fuel credit tax increased, a measure it says would do more to ease the cost pressures on transport operators than cutting the fuel excise.
"[Increasing it] just means that there is some tax incentive back into the pockets of those that are affected most because of the amount of fuel that they're using to do their job," Ms Bilato said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated there would be no changes to fuel taxes before the budget is handed down later this month.
