WHITSUNDAY OPERATOR RIDES WAVE OF SUCCESS

The Whitsundays’ largest day cruise operator, Fantasea Cruises, has sailed to victory at the Australian Tourism Awards.

Tourism Minister Margaret Keech, who was in Sydney for the awards on Friday night, said Fantasea Cruises had played a major role in the development of tourism in one of the world’s most desirable tourism destinations.

“The world has only one Great Barrier Reef and we are not only blessed that it is located in Queensland, but that we also have such world-class tourism operators providing access to it,” Mrs Keech said.

“The company, which is a multiple Queensland Tourism Award winner, has been proactively involved in the local and state tourism industry for many years.

“Queensland continues to set the benchmark for Australia holiday experiences thanks to the hard work of tourism operators such as Fantasea Cruises.

“The company was up against some very strong national competition in the major category of Significant Tourist Attraction, which proves that Queensland is home to some of the best tourism operators in the world.”

Mrs Keech said tourism was a major employer for the Whitsundays, contributing more than $684 million to the local economy in 2006 financial year.

“The Queensland Government recently invested more than $600,000 in the development of the 74 Islands out of the Blue tourism campaign, including a multi-purpose commercial to highlight the virtues of the Whitsundays region,"
 she said.

“This campaign is not just about promoting the Whitsundays, but also to support tourism operators like Fantasea Cruises and their reef platform, Reefworld."

Media contacts: Jo Gibbons 3224 2007 or David Smith 3225 1005 / 0409 496 534