An online tourism database has been launched to help boost Indigenous and communities affected by lockdowns and COVID-19.
Adnyamathanha elder, Mick McKenzie, works as a cultural tour guide at Ikara Wilpena Pound, in South Australia's Flinders Ranges.
For the past six years, he has worked alongside a team of traditional owners who are dedicated to sharing their culture and heritage.
Following the impact of 2020's coronavirus pandemic, Mr McKenzie said he has never seen it this quiet before.
"Usually from November to March we get all the international people . and we're swarming with those guys because they're escaping winter to come here to 45 to 50 degrees," Mr McKenzie said.
"This year, it's a major impact on us because of the COVID impact."
The cultural tours explain the Adnyamathanha story of how the Akurra (serpents) formed Ikara Wilpena Pound, which is known for its large hills surrounding the Pound.
But due to the pandemic, there was no choice but to shut down the cultural tours and the Ikara Wilpena Pound Resort from March to about June.
"It's about the health and people's wellbeing, so we had to close it down," Mr McMckenzie said.
Only the supermarket at Ikara Wilpena Pound stayed open to serve the pastoralists and surrounding communities.
"This was the shopping centre of South Australia in the outback."
Financial losses
The closure had a big impact on the workers.
"A lot of us have had superannuation that we could tap into, so that got us through the drought period of wages but then the government stood in," Mr McKenzie said.
"Some of us went onto JobKeeper and JobSeeker - it had a real impact on the people that started after March."
Traditional owner and Visitor Information Officer, Charlene Tree, started working just after the first lockdown ended.
"The second lockdown that we had a couple of weeks ago made us all really nervous because we are all on seasonal contracts," she said.
The lockdowns also had a huge financial impact on the cultural tours.
"During the last round of lockdowns, we were almost booked to capacity and we had about 240 cancellations," Ms Tree said.
"But having said that, bookings are starting to flow back in again, so that's a good sign."
Return of wildlife
Mr McKenzie said there were some positives that came from the lockdowns.
"It was good - there were no humans, but I tell you what though, the animals and the birdlife came back into the resort," he said.
"The yellow-footed rock-wallaby, the Andu, was coming near our quarters - never before.
"The birds I've never seen for a while, they came here."
Indigenous tourism database
The Adnyamathanha culture tours are some of more than 85 experiences, including ones at Uluru and Arnhem Land, featured on Australia's first not-for-profit Indigenous tourism database.
It is called 'Welcome to Country' and it has been set up to help Indigenous businesses grow.
"The database, yes that would be great . but we want to give a little tiny bit of it, otherwise, what's the point of selling it?" Mr McKenzie said.
He said he hopes it can help businesses, especially given the COVID-19 lockdowns and border closures.
"I hope so, because I tell you what, there's a lot of people out there that have just got no idea about Yura [Adnyamathanha] things, Aboriginal culture and that needs to be put out there," Mr McKenzie said.
Keeping profits in communities
Welcome to Country CEO, Jason Eades, said the not-for-profit is focussed on providing employment and economic opportunities for Indigenous people.
"Eighty per cent of all the fees we collect go back to the community and when I say community, it goes back to the operator," he said.
"So, in some instances they are community-run businesses, in other instances they are small family-run businesses.
"The 20 per cent goes into the running costs of the marketplace itself."
Mr Eades said it will help provide exposure and therefore help operators become more sustainable.
"There's no better time than now given COVID and the impact it's had on tourism," he said.
"We're hoping that we'll see more and more people look domestically to have the trip that perhaps they weren't expecting to have in the next 12 months."
Breaking the barrier
Ms Tree said Indigenous tourism experiences are essential to generating better understanding between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
"Sharing our culture through tours breaks down that barrier between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people," Ms Tree said.
"It gives them an insight into our culture, because I think hatred and racism comes from ignorance.
"Being able to share that is an amazing feeling, it creates more employment and it has a massive affect.
"I think any positive exposure that we can get in relation to our tours and just our business generally would be a positive for us here."