"It's a big thing, a lot of the people are becoming emotional with joy," Anangu senior tribal elder and former chair of the Uluru Kata-Tjuta board Donald Fraser said in video footage supplied to media by the national park ahead of the climb ban. "The traditional owners were suffering and ended up in stress because they were treading on important place, important rock." Tourists observe the sun setting from the dedicated sunset area near Uluru on October 10. Credit:AAP Confirmation of the date of the ban has drawn people to the park. And despite fears that closing the climb would destroy tourism in the area, operators are optimistic about their prospects for the remainder of the year. "We're going to have a record November," said Voyages chief executive Grant Hunt, who runs the Voyages Ayers Rock Resort conglomerate responsible for most tourist accommodation in the region.

"What we are seeing is an increase in the caravan sector. Lake Eyre filled with water this year as well - so many, many more are going up the centre. Everyone was saying 'ah it's going to be a disaster when the climb closes', but that's not going to happen." Loading Lyndee Severin, who runs a million acre cattle station 107 kilometres from Uluru with an accommodation business on the side, said although she had fewer November bookings than October bookings, there were signs the Central Australian tourism sector will cash in on the Uluru controversy for years to come. "All of the media attention has put the region back on people's agendas," Ms Severin said. "People who were not coming to do the climb have seen all the media attention and gone 'let's put that back on the agenda'. "We've had a lot of inquiries from people who have gone: we're not coming now but we're looking to come next year."

Since the national park board voted to ban the climb, Uluru has received increased media attention and more visitors - with 395,338 people entering the park in the 2018-19 fiscal year, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year. Photographs of hundreds of tourists snaking up the tight Uluru walkway in recent months have spurred anger on social media. Tourists on segways at the bottom of the rock on October 10. Credit:AAP Questions over the climb's safety have also resurfaced. Last year a 76-year-old Japanese tourist died while climbing the rock, the 37th recorded fatality at Uluru, and last week a 12-year-old girl fell 20 metres while descending the rock face. Charlie Paterson from the Royal Flying Doctor Service said someone from the region was airlifted three times a week, but there had been no increase in injuries on Uluru with the last-minute climbing dash.

"The majority of evacuations continue to be for reasons of ill-health and accidents associated with the increased number of tourists to the region as opposed to injuries sustained from climbing activities," Mr Paterson said. Loading "There has been a spike in the number of patient evacuations from Ayers Rock Airport over the past 100 days [since 1 July] when compared to the corresponding period last year." Some politicians, tourism operators and commentators have opposed the closure, arguing tourists should be able to climb the rock as a way to "educate people about the geography of this country", according to outdoorsman Marc Hendrickx. "We should be free to enjoy these wonderful natural spaces on our own terms without being fettered by petty bureaucracy and the religious views of others," said Mr Hendrickx, a geologist who complained to the Human Rights Commission that the ban was discriminatory. (The complaint was rejected in August.)

"You're still going to get people who climb illegally. I was last there last July and I told my daughters we will be back there in 20 years to climb it again. In the overall context of a trip out to Uluru, a $600 fine can just be added on to what is already a very expensive trip." Ms Severin from Curtin Springs agreed the rock would be climbed illegally. "Humans are humans," she said. "Every inch of the rock can’t be policed all the time. One of the really strong messages that we get from visitors is that the rock belongs to all Australians, not just a very small percentage." Ms Severin was at odds with federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham, who supports the ban. "The decision of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board and the wishes of the park's traditional owners should be respected," Senator Birmingham said.