According to Georgia Hitch and Nick Hose from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC,) the October 2019 ban on climbing Uluru stems from a pattern of disrespect towards its traditional owners. Disregarding cultural lore and tour guides’ warnings carries substantial risks. The permanent closure of the sacred site followed previous requests to abstain from climbing:

Traditional owners have been asking visitors not to climb Uluru since the 1985 handback and signs requesting people reconsider climbing have been in place at the base of the climb area since 1992. The entirety of Uluru is a sacred area and the site where the climb begins is also a sacred men’s area. Whether visitors should be allowed to climb Uluru has long been a topic of debate, with a number of controversial incidents—including a woman “stripping” on top of Uluru—reigniting the discussion in years past.

In 2009, Tourism Central Australia warned that flagging visitor numbers to the park could worsen if a ban was put in place, but on Wednesday said it supported the decision.Members of the Central Land Council and other proponents of a ban had consistently argued drops in numbers would not occur. More recently, tourism operators rejected claims a ban would result in a drop in visitors, saying ending the activity and teaching people about why it was inappropriate to scale the rock might increase visitation.