Queensland shone brightly at the 2023 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards winning 14 accolades - five gold, seven silver, and two bronze.
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Over 180 leading tourism operators, 21 from Queensland, vied for top honours across 26 categories at the industry's premier event, held at the Darwin Convention Centre.
The highly coveted Major Festivals and Events Award was presented to Queensland's iconic Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers while Whitsunday's Ocean Rafting took the title for best Adventure Tourism.
The Reef House Boutique Hotel and Spa in North Queensland was awarded gold for the illustrious 5 Star Luxury Accommodation Award. Fun Over 50 Holidays was crowned the best in Ecotourism while BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort took out the top gong for Caravan and Holiday Parks.
Nine other Queensland tourism operators from the Gold Coast to the Tropical North took to the podium with silver or bronze, including Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary who was crowned Australia's second-best Major Tourist Attraction.
Cape York Peninsula Lodge - Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island Tourism Experience; Narrows Escape Rainforest Retreat - Hosted Accommodation; Rockhampton Regional Council - Explore Rockhampton - Tourism Marketing & Campaigns; Ocean Rafting - Major Tour & Transport Operators; Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary - Major Tourist Attractions; Ocean Rafting - Major Tour & Transport Operators; and Bundaberg Rum Distillery Visitor Experience - Tourist Attraction took silver; while Magnums Accommodation Airlie Beach - 3-3.5 Star Accommodation and Cape York Peninsula Lodge - 4-4.5 Star Deluxe Accommodation took out bronze.
The awards were supported by returning naming rights sponsor, Qantas, as well as Platinum Sponsor, Tourism Australia, and Host Partners, the Northern Territory Government and Tourism NT.
"To be taking home 14 accolades at the national level is a wonderful achievement and demonstrates the dedication of our tourism operators in making Queensland one of the best destinations to holiday," said Brett Fraser, chief executive of Queensland Tourism Industry Council.
"No state or territory is successful in wowing visitors or becoming a world-class destination without the hard work of its tourism operators. We owe our triumphs to those businesses that work tirelessly to deliver outstanding visitor experiences.