In late 2017, I entered the conceptual and engaging world of Geotourism, following a life-long passion for geoscience and location-aware technology that has influenced my life and career for over 20 years. I sought answers to the question – can Geotourism assist in developing the Northern Territory, promoting its regions and communities, and its capital Darwin?

I believe it can.

Geotourism is a well-stablished industry overseas but is only just beginning to gain momentum in Australia, primarily through state-initiated projects. However, a National Geotourism Strategy was released on the 7^th of April 2021 by the Australian Geoscience Council with the intention of coordinating national geotourism initiatives under 7 strategic goals, all of which are relevant to Northern Australia.

The potential of the Northern Territory as a geotourism hub is beginning to be recognised and several projects have been competed or are progressing.

My presentation focuses on 3 geotourism themes as they relate to the Northern Territory.

1. The lessons learned from building the Darwin City Geotrail (DCG), a self-funded and resourced self-guided on-line tour of the Darwin Central Business District.
2. The Pine Creek Geotrail proposal under development which is coordinated by the Darwin Branch of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) through a Regional Development Australia (NT)
3. Potential collaboration for new geotrails in other parts of the Northern Territory and interlinkages with National Geotrails.