Gold Coast chalks up six wins as The Star nabs rights to host 2018 Queensland Tourism Awards

THE Gold Coast has claimed six accolades at this year’s 33rd annual Queensland Tourism Awards — and secured the rights to host next year’s awards gala.

THE Gold Coast has claimed six accolades at this year’s 33rd annual Queensland Tourism Awards — and secured the rights to host next year’s awards gala.

The Gold Coast region collected two gold awards, three silver and a bronze at last night’s gala ceremony for 900 guests at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards (Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries) and Tree Top Challenge (Adventure Tourism) were among the 28 gold award recipients.

The gold award winners gain automatic entry into the Australian Tourism Awards in Perth on February 23.

RACV Royal Pines Resort, which won two silver (Luxury Accommodation and Business Event Venues) and Surfers Paradise Sand Safari (Arts Festival 2017) were among the 24 silver winners while Surfers Paradise LIVE 2017 (Major Festivals and Events) was one of 24 bronze award recipients.

The Star Gold Coast will host the 2018 Queensland Tourism Awards. Picture: Supplied.

Hosted by the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, the awards celebrate the $25 billion state tourism industry’s successful operators.

Next year’s awards will be held at The Star Gold Coast, which is fast emerging as the venue of choice for awards galas after it secured the 2018 Logies and 2018 CMC (Country Music Channel) Awards.

The Star Entertainment Group Queensland managing director Geoff Hogg said securing the state’s premier tourism awards night was another coup for the city.

The Tree Top Challenge (Adventure Tourism) has claimed gold at the Queensland Tourism Awards. among the 28 gold award recipients.

“With tourism a key driver of the Gold Coast, it is only fitting the event move south to our coastal city that has undeniably earnt its reputation of being a crowd favourite for tourists both domestically and internationally alike,” he said.

“We are incredibly excited to roll out the red carpet for the industry’s brightest stars at our newly redeveloped integrated resort as we continue to elevate our status as an in-demand events

destination.”

Surfers Paradise Sand Safari (Arts Festival 2017) was among the 24 silver winners at the Queensland Tourism Awards.

A total of 83 Queensland Tourism Awards were handed out across 28 categories last night in addition to the inaugural People’s Choice awards won by Paronella Park, in Cairns and RACV Resort Noosa.

QTIC Chief Executive Daniel Gschwind said more than 160 nominations were received from Queensland tourism operators.

“Queensland’s tourism industry continues to do much of the heavy lifting for the state’s economy, this year growing by more than 5.5 per cent and employing more than 225,000 people,” he said.

“International visitor numbers for Queensland have seen record grown in the 12 months to June 2017, growing 5.6 per cent.

“Some 2.6 million international visitors generated $5.2 billion in overnight expenditure.”

O’Reilly’s Canungra Valley Vineyards (Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries) was one of 28 gold award recipients at the Queensland Tourism Awards.

Mr Gschwind said moving the awards to the Coast next year would help the tourism industry maintain the momentum of the Commonwealth Games.

He said the Coast was “the original and quintessential home for Australian destination holidays” while The Star was one of QTIC’s committed corporate partners that supported initiatives including indigenous tourism and employment programs.

RACV Royal Pines Resort has won two silver (Luxury Accommodation and Business Event Venues) awards at the Queensland Tourism Awards.

Tourism Minister Kate Jones said the industry was growing from strength to strength “thanks to the hard work of our tourism operators who deliver fantastic products and experiences”.

The awards are presented by Queensland Airports Limited in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland and supporting partner Tourism Australia.

The awards are judged by a panel of industry experts who volunteer their time to assess written submissions and travel throughout Queensland to experience the amenities and

services of nominated businesses.

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