Five Gold Coast operators honoured at Queensland Tourism Awards

Four Gold Coast tourism operators won their categories and theme park visionary and stalwart John Menzies was honoured for his outstanding contribution at the prestigious Queensland Tourism Awards 2007 held in Townsville this evening, Tourism Minister Desley Boyle announced.

Gold Coast winners were:
• Warner Village Theme Parks CEO John Menzies (Marie Watson-Blake Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual);
• Gold Coast Information and Booking Centre Coolangatta (Visitor Information and Services Award);
• Lillydale Host Farm (Hosted Accommodation Award);
• Turtle Beach Resort (Deluxe Accommodation Award) and;
• Peppers Spicers Peak Lodge (Luxury Accommodation Award).

“John has truly worked his way up the ranks from his early days as a performance water skier to building up Seaworld to a world-class attraction, helping to develop Hamilton Island and overseeing the inception of Warner Brothers Movieworld,” Ms Boyle said.

“He has made an amazing contribution to the Queensland tourism industry.

“Gold Coast Tourism has done a great job in developing the Gold Coast Information and Booking Centre at Coolangatta. It provides an invaluable service to visitors and helps the Gold Coast make the most of its tourism opportunities.

“Accommodation providers are the backbone of the industry and the Gold Coast boasts three of the best: Lillydale Host Farm, Turtle Beach Resort and Peppers Spicers Lodge are all very different but united in quality. Tourists are spoilt for choice on the Gold Coast.

“I also congratulate The Mouse House and Royal Woods Resort on receiving Directions Awards for encouragement for their respective entries in the Hosted Accommodation and Luxury Accommodation categories.

“The Gold Coast also had 20 finalists in the awards.

“This is a terrific result for the Gold Coast and reveals the depth of quality and diversity in the Coast’s tourism products and services.

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

The 20 Gold Coast finalists were:
• Wet ‘n’ Wild Water World (Major Tourist Attractions)
• Australian Outback Spectacular (Tourist Attractions)
• ANZ Ladies Masters, GC Bazaar, and the Lexmark Indy 300 (Major Festivals and Events)
• One Night in Summer (Festivals and Events)
• Mt Barney Lodge Country Retreat and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat (the Steve Irwin Ecotourism Award)
• Harbour Town Outlet Shopping Centre (Specialised Tourism Services)
• Crowne Plaza Royal Pines Resort Convention Centre and Dreamworld (Meetings and Business Tourism)
• Tall Ship Sailing Cruises (Major Tour or Transport Operators)
• Dreamworld and GC Bazaar (the Richard Power Award for Tourism Marketing)
• Griffith Business School Department of Tourism, Leisure, Hotel and Sports Management (Tourism Education and Training)
• Aquarius Backpackers (Backpacker Accommodation)
• Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat and O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat (Deluxe Accommodation)
• The Gold Coast Information and Booking Centre Beenleigh and WhiteWater World (New Tourism Development).

Ms Boyle congratulated Tourism Queensland and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC) for 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)