Hats off to our top attractions

The Port Arthur Historic Site won the Major Tourist Attraction category.

EAST Coast and regional tourism stole the spotlight at last night's Tasmanian Tourism Awards at Wrest Point in Hobart.

All five accommodation categories were bagged by East Coast businesses, and 19 of 25 categories were won by enterprises from outside Hobart.

"With a lot of focus rightly on Hobart at the moment after the Lonely Planet announcement, [last night] proved to be a fantastic celebration of Tasmania's regional tourism heart," Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said.

"This is a stunning result for the East Coast that will have flow-on benefits for the whole region, as [last night's] winners will represent Tasmania at next February's national tourism awards to be held in Hobart, putting the East Coast up in lights on the national stage."

See today's Saturday Mercury for the full list of winners.

Bicheno's Sandpiper Ocean Cottages won Best Standard Accommodation and also took out the People's Choice Award.

For the second year in a row, the Port Arthur Historic Site won Best Major Tourism Attraction and Best Heritage and Cultural Tourism Experience.

Pennicott Wilderness Journeys' Bruny Island Cruises also cemented its status, winning Best Tourism Attraction for the fourth year in a row.

Bruny Island Cruises also entered the Tasmanian Tourism Hall of Fame for winning the Sustainable Tourism category three years in a row.

Hobart's Taste Festival won Best Major Festival or Event on its debut in the competition. The Festival of Voices, also held in Hobart, won the Festival and Events section.

John Hamilton, founder of Tasmania's longest-operating wildlife sanctuary, Tasmanian Devil Park at Taranna, was recognised for his outstanding contribution.

Richard Davey, playwright and performer of The Ship that Never Was on the West Coast, was named Tourism Minister's Tourism Champion.

Jump Tours founder Greg Price was named the Minister's Young Achiever of the Year.

The University of Tasmania's Emily Bremner was named the Skal International Hobart Club's Tourism Student of the Year.

Tourism Minister Scott Bacon said the state's $2.2 billion industry supported 35,000 Tasmanians.

Premier Lara Giddings said the results showed that Tasmania's reputation as a world-class tourist destination continued to grow.

"With many of this year's award winners based in regional areas, it's also a reminder that the importance of tourism to our economy spreads well beyond our city centres," Ms Giddings said.

Last night's winners will represent Tasmania in their categories at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards national finals.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Hats off to our top attractions

Dengan url

http://kembangtrotoar.blogspot.com/2012/11/hats-off-to-our-top-attractions.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Hats off to our top attractions

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Hats off to our top attractions

sebagai sumbernya