2016 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards
First established by the Federal Government in 1985, the Australian Tourism Awards are now owned and managed by the National Tourism Alliance, on behalf of the tourism industry. A wide and diverse range of tourism businesses enter their state and territory Tourism Awards. Over 200 reach the prestigious status of becoming a national finalist.
Winners from these finalists are announced at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards Ceremony in front of an audience of their industry leaders and peers. The prestigious Hall of Fame trophy is awarded to an entrant who has won the same category for three consecutive years. For both the industry and the consumer an Australian Tourism Award is recognised as a mark of excellence in Australian tourism.
The winners of the 25 business categories at the Brolga Awards are automatically entered into the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards (QATA).
An individual award, Australian Tourism Legend, is also presented to a member of the tourism industry who over a number of years has greatly contributed to the Australian Tourism Industry.
Visit the Australian Tourism Awards website to view all the winners.
Gold
Hall of Fame – Voyages Ayers Rock Resort - Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Tourism
Voyages Ayers Rock Resort is committed to excellence in Indigenous cultural tourism, playing a leading role as one of Australia’s iconic tourism destinations. The resort provides employment, training and business development opportunities for local Anangu and Indigenous people Australia-wide with indigenous culture in every element of its offering.
Alice Springs Visitor Information Centre - Visitor Information Services
Located in the heart of Alice Springs, the Visitor Information Centre houses a wealth of free information on tours, attractions, accommodation, events, transport options, including travel tips and maps, and their friendly and professional staff members are also available to assist travellers with their holiday queries.
Silver
Kakadu National Park - Major Tourist Attractions
Kakadu National Park attracted 180,000 visitors last year, and is recognised as offering world class tourism experiences through its natural and cultural attractions. Covering nearly 20,000 square kilometres of exceptional natural beauty and unique biodiversity, Kakadu is one of Australia’s iconic World Heritage attractions.
Darwin Convention Centre – Business Tourism
Located on the spectacular Darwin Harbour, the world class Darwin Convention Centre is the Northern Territory’s premier conference venue. The highly accredited Centre is large enough to cater for conventions of 1,200 delegates, yet small enough to offer bespoke and unique “Top End” event experiences.
Bronze
Uluru Camel Tours – Tour and/or transport Operations
Uluru Camel Tours is an owner operated tour business based in the heart of Australia, the Red Centre. They are the largest Camel farm in Australia, home to over 60 beautiful camels, offering a camel with stunning views of World Heritage listed Uluru and Kata Tjuta as the backdrop.
Uluru Camel Tours – Adventure Tourism
Take the ultimate camel adventure, at Uluru Camel Tours in the beating heart of Australia. Be inspired by the stunning surrounds of Uluru and Kata Tjuta as you gently coast along the sand dunes some ten feet off the ground, letting go of your fears, with not a care in the world.
Venture North Australia – Cultural Tourism
Venture North Australia offer guided cultural and nature based tours throughout the Top End and operate Cobourg Coast Camp – an eco-tourism and fishing camp on the Cobourg Peninsula in northern Arnhem Land. They specialise in taking guests off the beaten track and into some of the more remote and hard to access regions.
Harvey Lister - AEG Ogden - Australian Tourism Legend
Chairman and Chief Executive of AEG Ogden, Harvey Lister has shown an outstanding contribution to the international success of Australia’s tourism, sporting and entertainment industries for over 40 years and staging over 20,000 major events. Mr Lister is a remarkable Australian who began his career in events as an entertainment promoter during the 1970’s, bringing entertainment acts to Queenslanders across the state. Mr Lister, and fellow Queenslander Rod Pilbeam, went on to establish an international music, entertainment, conventions and sport venue management company, AEG. Today, their Brisbane based company AEG Ogden manages more than 200,000 seats over a family of 21 major venues across Australia, including the Darwin Convention Centre. The multi-award winning venues drive tourism and events in Australia attracting millions of visitors to the venues annually and are estimated to directly contribute over $740 million to the Australian economy.