AUSTRALIA-TOURISM-ULURU-AYERS ROCK

The resort town of Yulara (C) and Connellan Airport (front) lie before the arkose massif of Uluru (Ayers Rock) rising 348 metres above the surrounding desert of central Australia, 16 February 2007. Uluru, the second largest monolith on Earth after Mt Augustus in Western Australia, has profound cultural significance for the local Pitjantjatjara and Yankuntjatjara Aborigines. Between 1931 and 1946 only 22 people were known to have climbed Uluru but now around 500,000 tourists from around the world visit the Rock every year. AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD (Photo by TORSTEN BLACKWOOD / AFP) (Photo by TORSTEN BLACKWOOD/AFP via Getty Images)