National Museum takes top honour: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. Weekend Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 24 Feb 2007: 10.
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Abstract
The Northern Territory’s Discovery EcoTours Australia won the Heritage and Cultural Tourism award for its small group tours covering Uluru, the Olgas, theMacDonnell Ranges, Kakadu National Park and the Cobourg Peninsula.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who attended last night’s event, said the awards demonstrated the quality of tourism operators across Australia.
Host of last night’s event, National Tourism Alliance chairman Col Hughes, said tourism in regional Australia had been flat over the past two years because of intense competition for the consumer dollar and the winners represented not just “the best of the best” but showed the industry’s resilience.
Full Text
FROM nationally renowned attractions to obscure ecotourism operations, last night’s 2006 Australian Tourism Awards celebrated the best of the $75billion industry.
The National Museum of Australia took out the Major Tourist Attraction Award at last night’s ceremony, attended by 800 industry players at Star City casino in Sydney.
The late Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo was named Tourism Retailer of the Year and perennial favourite the Sydney Royal Easter Show won the Major Festival and Special Events category.
NSW also took home the Tourism Wineries prize, which went to the Hunter Valley’s Bimbadgen Estate Wines.
Less well known, Western Australia’s Kooljaman at Cape Leveque won the Ecotourism award.
Owned by the Aboriginal communities of One Arm Point and Djarindjin, it is a wilderness camp 220km north of Broome. Visitors to this remote location can sleep in traditional palm frond shelters on the beach or stay in rustic cabins.
The Northern Territory’s Discovery EcoTours Australia won the Heritage and Cultural Tourism award for its small group tours covering Uluru, the Olgas, theMacDonnell Ranges, Kakadu National Park and the Cobourg Peninsula.
Fantasea Cruises, the largest day cruise operator in the Whitsunday region, took out the Significant Tourist Attractions category. Their Great Barrier Reef platform includes an underwater viewing chamber.
Tourism Minister Fran Bailey, who attended last night’s event, said the awards demonstrated the quality of tourism operators across Australia.
She described the Australia Zoo as a worthy winner for its appeal to the key US market and for its “huge contribution to conservation and tourism”.
“Every dollar earned at Australia Zoo is re-invested back in the zoo for conservation efforts,” she said.
Host of last night’s event, National Tourism Alliance chairman Col Hughes, said tourism in regional Australia had been flat over the past two years because of intense competition for the consumer dollar and the winners represented not just “the best of the best” but showed the industry’s resilience.
“The finalists all go through a stringent review process before five judges over a three-day period, the results are then audited and the winners kept secret until the night by accountants Ernst & Young,” he said. “These awards showcase the industry’s enthusiasm and ability to bounce back.”
Full list of winners — The Weekend Australian Magazine