The glittering jewel of the Top End is suffering an identity crisis. After starring in box office hits, top-rating TV shows and glitzy commercials, Kakadu has fallen on hard times. Visitor numbers (especially internationals) began to decline between 1999 and 2000, even before the tourism trauma caused by 9/11. The graph looks like a ski-jump now that some recovery from airborne terror is occurring globally, but the scars remain. Kakadu and the NT generally continue to lag.

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