Golden Night Showcases New South Wales Tourism

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. November 20, 2008

SYDNEY, Australia, November 20, 2008. Sydney's popular visitor experience, BridgeClimb, won the Gold Award for New South Wales'(NSW)major tourist attractions for the third year in a row at the NSW Tourism Awards in Sydney tonight.

BridgeClimb was also inducted into the Awards' Hall of Fame and shared the People's Choice Award with the Sydney Royal Easter Show which won the Gold Award for Major Festivals and Events.

Other Gold Award winners announced during the ceremony at Star City Hotel and Casino included the CountryLink Parkes Elvis Festival (Central NSW), Montague Island Tours (South Coast) and the Lane Cove River Tourist Park (Sydney).

Minister for Tourism Jodi McKay said the awards highlighted the quality and vitality of the state's tourism industry.

"The NSW Tourism Awards recognise those businesses that have demonstrated outstanding achievement and success.

"The winners have been singled out by their peers as the benchmark for best practice across the state," Ms McKay said.

Ms McKay joined 800 industry leaders, representatives and sponsors at the NSW Tourism Awards which was jointly hosted by Tourism NSW and the Tourism Industry Council NSW.

"NSW tourism contributes more than $27 billion a year to the state's economy and is directly responsible for 157,000 jobs or 4.8 per cent of all jobs in NSW," said Ms McKay.

Award finalists were selected after a three day judging process by a panel of NSW tourism industry experts and Awards sponsors. This year the judges chose 146 finalists across 30 categories from a record 250+ entries - an increase of 25 per cent on last year.

Tourism operators and providers vied for Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards across a range of categories including attractions, festivals and events, ecotourism, tour and transport operators, marketing, a range of accommodation styles, contributions from individuals and the Young Achiever Award.

This year the program also featured new Awards - the Qantas Award for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism, won by the Lane Cover River Tourist Park in Sydney and the Sunday Telegraph People's Choice Award, which was jointly shared by BridgeClimb and the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

The 'Outstanding Contribution to Regional Tourism' Award went to Julie-Anne Wuttke for her work with OutBack Regional Tourism in promoting Outback NSW.

Nora McWilliam of Hunter Valley Wine Country Tourism won this year's Wendy O'Donohue Young Achiever Award and the Sam Fiszman Prize.

Five operators were inducted into the 2008 Tourism Awards' Hall of Fame, in recognition of their achievement in winning the category title for three consecutive years.

This year's Hall of Fame inductees were BridgeClimb (Sydney) for Major Tourist Attractions; Sydney Royal Easter Show (Sydney) for Major Festivals and Events; Montague Island Tours (South Coast) for Eco-Tourism; Crystal Creek Meadows Luxury Cottages and Spa Retreat (South Coast) for Hosted Accommodation; and Bimbadgen Estate (Hunter) for Tourism Wineries.

"The quality and profile of this year's NSW Tourism Awards winners absolutely qualifies the efforts we are taking, working closely with the Industry at State and regional level, to encourage more visitors to enjoy the NSW experience," said Ms MacKay.

"As well as benefiting from increased recognition and marketing leverage, Gold Award winners will have the opportunity to compete nationally against the best of Australian tourism, in the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards to be announced on Friday 27th February 2009 in Melbourne." Presented by Tourism NSW, in conjunction with Tourism Industry Council NSW, the NSW Tourism Awards is the largest and most prestigious event on the State's annual tourism calendar.

For a full listing of Award Winners at the 2008 NSW Tourism Awards visit www.visitnsw.com.au Media contact: Dale Paget 0409090911 2008 NSW Tourism Awards * Regional Tourism Awards Winners marked with an asterisk (*) throughout this program are winners of tourism awards in their respective regions.

2008 NSW Tourism Awards

• Regional Tourism Awards Winners marked with an asterisk (*) throughout this program are winners of tourism awards in their respective regions.

01-Major Tourist Attractions

Gold Award: BridgeClimb (Sydney)

Silver Award: Sydney Featherdale Wildlife Park (Sydney)

02-Tourist Attractions

Gold Award: Pet Porpoise Pool* (Mid North Coast)

Silver Award: Moonshadow Cruises (Mid North Coast)

Bronze Award: Jamberoo Action Park* (South Coast)

03-Major Festivals and Events

Gold Award: Sydney Royal Easter Show (Sydney)

Silver Award: Sydney Festival 2008 (Sydney)

04-Festivals and Events

Gold Award: CountryLink Parkes Elvis Festival (2008)* (Central NSW)

Silver Award: Temora Aviation Museum Flying Days (Riverina)

Bronze Award: The Bitter & Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival*

(Hunter)

05-Ecotourism

Gold Award: Montague Island Tours* (South Coast)

Silver Award: Blackbutt Reserve* (Hunter)

06-Heritage and Cultural Tourism

Gold Award: Temora Aviation Museum* (Riverina)

Silver Award: Maitland Gaol (Hunter)

Bronze Award: Bells Milk Bar & Museum (Outback NSW)

07-Indigenous Tourism

Gold Award: Booderee National Park (South Coast)

08-Specialised Tourism Services

Gold Award: two eight two eight* (Central NSW)

Silver Award: Newcastle Airport* (Hunter)

Bronze Award: Cockle Bay Wharf (Sydney)

09-Visitor Information and Services

Gold Award: Clarence River Tourism - Clarence River and Clarence Coast

Visitor Information Centres (Northern Rivers)

Silver Award: Cowra Visitor Information Centre* (Central NSW)

Bronze Award: Lismore Visitor Information Centre (Northern Rivers)

10-Meetings and Business Tourism

Gold Award: Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley Resort (Hunter)

Silver Award: Crowne Plaza Newcastle* (Hunter)

11-Major Tour and/or Transport Operators

Gold Award: AAT Kings Sydney Sightseeing (Sydney)

Silver Award: Tour East Australia (Sydney)

Bronze Award: Moonshadow Cruises* (Mid North Coast)

12-Tour and/or Transport Operators

Gold Award: Boutique Wine Tours* (Hunter)

Silver Award: Tri State Safaris (Outback NSW)

Bronze Award: Dolphin Watch Cruises - Jervis Bay* (South Coast)

13-Adventure Tourism

Gold Award: EastSail Corporate Incentive Events & Adventure Sailing

(Sydney)

Silver Award: Tri State Safaris (Outback NSW)

Bronze Award: Jenolan Caves Adventure Underground (Blue Mountains)

14-Tourism Marketing

Gold Award: TakeABreak.com.au (Sydney)

Silver Award: BlueMountainsAustralia.com (Blue Mountains)

Bronze Award: NSW Caravan & Camping Tourism Marketing (Sydney)

15-Tourism Education & Training

Gold Award: Travel 2153 - Western Sydney Institute, TAFE NSW (Sydney)

Silver Award: Southern Cross University - School of Tourism and Hospitality

Management (Northern Rivers)

16-Tourism Restaurants & Catering Services

Gold Award: breeze Restaurant & Bar (Hunter)

Silver Award: Esca Bimbadgen (Hunter)

Bronze Award: Bent on Food* (Mid North Coast)

17-Tourism Wineries

Gold Award: Bimbadgen Estate* (Hunter)

Silver Award: Coolangatta Estate* (South Coast)

Bronze Award: Trentham Estate Winery* (Outback NSW)

18-Tourist & Caravan Parks

Gold Award: Lane Cove River Tourist Park (Sydney)

Silver Award: BIG4 North Star Holiday Resort (Northern Rivers)

Bronze Award: BIG4 Nelligen Holiday Park (South Coast)

19-Backpacker Accommodation

Gold Award: Sydney Central YHA (Sydney)

Silver Award: Samurai Beach Bungalows - Port Stephens YHA* (Mid North

Coast)

20-Hosted Accommodation

Gold Award: Crystal Creek Meadows Luxury Cottages & Spa Retreat* (South

Coast)

Silver Award: Whispering Pines B&B and Cottages* (Blue Mountains)

Bronze Award: Wilderness Grove (Hunter)

21-Unique Accommodation

Gold Award: EastSail Overnight Indulgence/Overnight Opulence (Sydney)

Silver Award: Old Leura Dairy* (Blue Mountains)

Bronze Award: Riverwood Downs Mountain Valley Resort (Hunter)

22-Standard Accommodation

Gold Award: The Old Vic Inn Historic Guesthouse (Central NSW)

Silver Award: The Lodge Outback Motel (Outback NSW)

Bronze Award: O'Carrollyn's Eco Village* (Mid North Coast)

23-Deluxe Accommodation

Gold Award: Shoal Bay Resort and Spa* (Mid North Coast)

Silver Award: The Observatory Port Macquarie* (Mid North Coast)

Bronze Award: Emaroo Cottages (Outback NSW)

24-Luxury Accommodation

Gold Award: Tower Lodge* (Hunter)

Silver Award: InterContinental Sydney (Sydney)

Bronze Award: Sheraton on the Park Hotel (Sydney)

25-New Tourism Development

Gold Award: Greater Blue Mountains Drive (Blue Mountains)

Silver Award: Somewhere Unique (Hunter)

Bronze Award: Oaks Pacific Blue Resort (Mid North Coast)

26-Qantas Awards for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism

Gold Award: Lane Cove River Tourist Park (Sydney)

1. Outstanding Contribution by an Individual:

Winner: John Thorpe

28-Outstanding Contribution to Regional Tourism:

Winner: Julie-Anne Wuttke

29-Wendy O'Donohue Young Achiever

Winner: Nora McWilliam

30-Registered Clubs

Gold Award: The Epping Club (Sydney