SIX TOURISM WINS, 21 FINALISTS FOR TNQ

Tropical North Queensland dominated the 2006 Queensland Tourism Awards, winning six major accolades and producing 21 finalists

Tourism Minister Margaret Keech said Tropical North Queensland and the Gold Coast each won six awards.

“The Queensland Tourism Awards recognise the best of the best and it was inspiring to see so many worthy entrants and so many delighted and enthusiastic winners and finalists in a diverse range of 28 award categories,” Mrs Keech said.

“I must congratulate the tourism operators throughout Tropical North Queensland for their outstanding efforts and results this year.

“This certainly reflects the popularity of the region and its attractions for both domestic and international visitors.

“The winning operators are a tribute to Tropical North Queensland and between them help to accommodate, transport, entertain and educate hundreds of thousands of domestic and international visitors every year.

“For the second year in a row, the Torres Strait Regional Authority’s Gab Titui Cultural Centre won the award for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism.

“Both the Major Tour and Transport Operator and Significant Tour and Transport Operator categories were taken out by TNQ by the Quicksilver Group and Passions of Paradise respectively.

“Jungle Surf Canopy Tours won the Adventure Tourism category and as the Minister responsible for wine development in Queensland, I was particularly delighted to see Murdering Point Winery take out the Tourism Wineries award.

“Special congratulations must go to Mike Burgess, Chairman and Managing Director of Quicksilver Connections, who was presented with the Marie Watson-Blake Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual.

“Mike has spent more than 40 years working in tourism and has made an enormous and an exceptional contribution to the industry.”

Mrs Keech said Brisbane, SunshineCoast and the Whitsundays region each won four awards on the night with two wins from the Outback and one each from the Fraser Coast South Burnett and Townsville regions.

“Townsville’s BungalowBayKoalaVillage, nominated by Wildlife Enterprises, was recognised as the Best Entry of the evening and received $10,000 in publicity for its efforts,” she said.

The winners and finalists were announced at a gala presentation to celebrate and commemorate excellence in the tourism industry at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, attended by around 1,200 industry representatives.

Mrs Keech paid tribute to the organisers of the event – Tourism Queensland and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council – as well as the 13-member Judging Panel and the sponsors for ensuring the gala evening was a huge success.

“This is the 10^th year that QR’s Traveltrain Holidays has provided its support and backing to the awards and we were delighted that they joined as our principal partner this year,” she said.

“All state winners now progress to the Australian Tourism Awards on 23 February 2007.

“There they will fly the Queensland flag and hopefully continue our proud record at the national level and showcase Queensland as the number one destination of choice.”

For further information, visit www.queenslandtourismawards.com.au.

Media contacts: David Smith 3225 1005 or Louise Yates 3535 5349 / 0419 713 176 (Tourism Queensland).