Red Cat Adventures buys Whitsunday Jetski Tours, expanding tourism offerings

The award-winning duo behind experiences to the Whitsunday Islands say it's an honour to add a suite of ‘adrenaline-filled’ jetskis to its tourism offerings.

Red Cat Adventures' Julie and Ash Telford have bought Whitsunday Jetski Tours.

Making the most of the region’s natural beauty while at the forefront of sustainable travel, Australian tourism Gold Award winner Red Cat Adventures is continuing to power ahead.

The Whitsundays’ islands and Great Barrier Reef tour company is further raising the region’s tourism profile with their acquisition of popular jetski tour company, Whitsunday Jetski Tours.

WJT’s original owners Steve and Toni Ward say they have watched Personal Water Craft (PWC) evolve from smaller freestyle-type machines to larger, safer, quieter machines ideal for touring Whitsunday waterways.

The Eco-tourism Australia-certified business offers tourism that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation.

Whitsunday Jetski Tours fleet.

“Over the course of our tenure, Whitsunday Jetski Tours has had the honour of being named TripAdvisor’s number one rated experience in Australia and a 2022 Traveller’s Choice award winner – and here we are handing over to Australia’s top adventure tourism operator, also twice inducted into Queensland Tourism’s Hall of Fame,” Toni Ward said.

“The fact that they’re both iconic, nationally acclaimed Whitsunday businesses is also significant,” Steve Ward added.

For Red Cat Adventures’ Asher and Julie Telford, the opportunity to take on another unique, securely established, premium tourism product was too good to overlook.

Thundercat offers day tours in the Whitsundays. Picture: Supplied.

“For a long time now, we have felt that the offering provided by Whitsunday Jetski Tours would complement our existing experiences perfectly,” Mr Telford said.

“Both brands are bold, resilient, and renowned for their integrity, so it is an honour to be adding Whitsunday Jetski Tours to our Red Cat Adventures suite.”

Red Cat Adventures directors Asher and Julie Telford. Picture: Heidi Petith

Awarded Climate Action Leaders certification in May 2019, Red Cat Adventures is the only charter boat tourism business in the Whitsundays to gain the highest level of ECO accreditation awarded in Australia.

Julie Telford said the future for both brands and the Whitsunday tourism scene was bright.

“Now we can be a one-stop adventure shop, offering visitors to the Whitsundays a week-long itinerary if they so choose,” she said.

Red Cat Adventures fleet. Picture: Contributed

“With Red Cat Adventures, you can now ride a fast boat to the Whitsundays’ most iconic spots, or slow down and sail the 74-island paradise.

“You can snorkel, bushwalk, take banana boat rides, go on waterfall and sunset tours, embark on adrenaline-filled jetski tours, paddle board, kayak and camp at Lake Proserpine, or even extend your trip with our Wild Cat tours from Mackay.”

Tourism Whitsundays CEO Rick Hamilton said being able to access all these experiences through one operator would be an incredible bonus for visitors to the Whitsundays and an asset to the region.

“Asher and Julie’s confidence in the Whitsunday tourism market is inspiring and a sign of the region’s meteoric rise from the depths of the pandemic to the thriving environment we find ourselves in now,” he said.