Five Townsville operators honoured at Queensland Tourism Awards

Five North Queensland tourism operators won their categories at the prestigious Queensland Tourism Awards 2007 which was staged in Townsville this evening, Tourism Minister Desley Boyle announced.

North Queensland winners were:
• Billabong Sanctuary (Tourism Attractions Award);
• James Cook University (Tourism Education and Training Award);
• Bungalow Bay Koala Village (Backpacker Accommodation);
• Noorla Heritage Resort (Standard Accommodation Award) and;
• Townsville and Far North Queensland for the Great Tropical Drive (New Tourism Development Award).

“This is a terrific result for Townsville and North Queensland. Well done to the winners and the local industry for their hard work,” Ms Boyle said.

“Competition was particularly strong at this year’s Queensland Tourism Awards, with more than 200 entries received.

“It was a very exciting night for Wildlife Enterprises with wins for two of their operations – Billabong Sanctuary and Bungalow Bay Koala Village.

“James Cook University is a worthy winner on the Tourism Education and Training category. It’s great to see the ‘behind the scenes’ operators recognised.

“Quality accommodation providers are the backbone of the industry and the Noorla Heritage Resort shows tourists can expect quality at all levels.

“Townsville Enterprise and Tourism Tropical North Queensland have done an outstanding job developing the Great Tropical Drive which will become a valuable asset to tourism in Queensland’s north.

“The Queensland Tourism Awards showcase the best of Queensland tourism. All winners and finalists are to be congratulated on their outstanding achievements.”

Eight Townsville operators were named as finalists in their categories:
• The Australian-Italian Festival (Festivals and Events);
• North Queensland Toyota Cowboys Home Game Series (Festivals and Events);
• Museum of Tropical Queensland (Heritage and Cultural Tourism);
• Rainforest and Reef Visitor Information Centre (Visitor Information and Services);
• Sunferries (Major Tour and/or Transport Operators);
• Adrenalin Dive (Tour and/or Transport Operators);
• Cassawong Cottages (Hosted Accommodation) and;
• Hidden Valley Cabins (Hosted Accommodation).

Ms Boyle congratulated Tourism Queensland and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) on organising and staging the Queensland Tourism Awards at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

“Thank you to the awards’ principal partner, Queensland Airports Limited for its generous support in presenting the Queensland Tourism Awards 2007,” she said.

QTIC Chief Executive Daniel Gschwind said the 13-member judging panel had a difficult task selecting winners and finalists in this year’s awards.

“The standards were high and competition was fierce which reveals the maturity and professionalism of Queensland’s tourism industry,” he said.

All Queensland Tourism Awards winners will progress to the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards to be presented in Canberra on Friday 29 February 2008.

A full list of Queensland Tourism Awards 2007 winners is attached.

Ends

Media contact: 3224 2004 or Danielle Koopman, Tourism Queensland: 0424 151 684
10 November 2007

2007 Queensland Tourism Award Winners

Category	Organisation	Event/Product Entered	Region
1Major Tourist Attractions	Australia Zoo	Australia Zoo	Sunshine Coast
2Tourist Attractions	Wildlife Enterprises	Billabong Sanctuary	Townsville
3Major Festivals & Events	Queensland Events Corporation	2006 Cadbury Schweppes Australian PGA Championship	Sunshine Coast
4Festivals & Events	Mt Isa Rotary Rodeo Inc	Mt Isa Rotary Rodeo	Outback
5The Steve Irwin Ecotourism Award	Daintree Discovery Centre	Daintree Discovery Centre	Tropical North Qld
6Heritage & Cultural Tourism	The Workshops Rail Museum	The Workshops Rail Museum	Brisbane
7Indigenous Tourism	Torres Strait Regional Authority	Gab Titui Cultural Centre	Tropical North Qld
8Specialised Tourism Services	Rubyvale Gem Gallery	Rubyvale Gem Gallery	Capricorn
9Visitor Information & Services	Gold Coast Tourism Corporation Ltd	Gold Coast Information & Booking Centre Coolangatta	Gold Coast
10Meetings & Business Tourism	Hamilton Island	Hamilton Island Conventions	Whitsundays
11Major Tour or Transport Operators	Quicksilver Group of Companies	Quicksilver Group of Companies	Tropical North Qld
12Tour or Transport Operators	Outback Aussie Tours	Outback Aussie Tours	Outback
13Adventure Tourism	Passions of Paradise	Passions of Paradise	Tropical North Qld
14The Richard Power Award for Tourism Marketing	Tourism Noosa	Tourism Noosa	Sunshine Coast
15Tourism Education & Training	James Cook University	James Cook University	Townsville
16Tourism Restaurants & Catering Services	Spirit House Restaurant & Cooking School	Spirit House Restaurant & Cooking School	Sunshine Coast
17Tourism Wineries	Gecko Valley	Gecko Valley	Gladstone
18Tourist & Caravan Parks	Cairns Coconut Caravan Resort	Cairns Coconut Caravan Resort	Tropical North Qld
19Backpacker Accommodation	Wildlife Enterprises	Bungalow Bay Koala Village	Townsville
20Hosted Accommodation	Lillydale Host Farm	Lillydale Host Farm	Gold Coast
21Unique Accommodation	QR’s Traveltrain Holidays	Queenslander Class on the Sunlander	Brisbane
22Standard Accommodation	Noorla Heritage Resort	Noorla Heritage Resort	Townsville
23Deluxe Accommodation	Turtle Beach Resort	Turtle Beach Resort	Gold Coast
24Luxury Accommodation	Peppers Spicers Peak Lodge	Peppers Spicers Peak Lodge	Gold Coast
25New Tourism Development	Tourism Tropical North Queensland & Townsville Enterprise	Great Tropical Drive	Tropical North Qld & Townsville
26The Marie Watson-Blake Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual	John Menzies Chief Executive Officer Warner Village Theme Parks
27Hall of Fame	Torres Strait Regional Authority – Gab Titui Cultural Centre Spirit House Restaurant & Cooking School

The Directions Awards for encouragement
Tourist Attractions	Bundaberg Rum Bondstore (Bundaberg)
Specialised Tourism Services	Bundaberg Rum Bondstore (Bundaberg)
Tour & Transport Operators	Hervey Bay Whale Watch (Fraser Coast)
Hosted Accommodation	The Mouses House (Gold Coast)
Deluxe Accommodation	The Point Brisbane (Brisbane)
Luxury Accommodation	Royal Woods Resort (Gold Coast)
New Tourism Development	ChannelWhitsunday.com (Whitsundays)