Victoria beats the rest
Victorian tourism operators have cleared the table at the national Tourism Awards, winning eight awards – more than any other state or territory, including New South Wales and Queensland.
Victoria’s Minister for Tourism, Tim Holding, said that Victoria’s tourism operators deserved the recognition and congratulated the industry for winning almost one-third of the awards available at the Australian Tourism Awards, adding, “this is a significant achievement as Queensland and New South Wales have larger tourism industries and many more big tourism businesses.”
He added, “We have worked hard to promote our tourism industry which is now worth $10.9 billion to our economy, up more than 50 per cent since 1999”.
The latest statistics show that domestic and international visitor expenditure in Victoria has increased over the previous year, outperforming national growth rates and key competitors NSW and Queensland.
Victoria won the following categories:
** Significant Regional Festivals & Events: Fun 4 Kids Festival;
** Meetings & Business Tourism: Geelong Otway Tourism;
** Tourism Restaurant & Catering Services: Dracula’s Cabaret Restaurant;
** Backpacker Accommodation: Greenhouse Backpacker;
** Hosted Accommodation: Woodlands Rainforest Bungalows;
** Standard Accommodation: Miami Hotel Melbourne;
** Luxury Accommodation: The Westin Melbourne; and
** New Tourism Development: Australian Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens.
Mr Holding added, “These businesses are the cream of Victoria’s tourism industry and have done exceptionally well to be named among the nation’s best against tough competition from all the other states and territories”.
Greenhouse Backpacker has won its category two years in a row and will be in the running for the Hall of Fame next year if it wins again at the Melbourne Airport 2007 Victorian Tourism Awards later this year.
The Government has also committed $21 million for the construction of a 10 hectare extension to the Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne.
Eight hundred tourism operators and industry leaders from across Australia attended the Australian Tourism Awards presentation in Sydney last night with Mr Holding leading the 87 strong Victorian delegation.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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