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Awards and other notable mentions ....

In August 2007, Chugg Entertainment announced that Elton John would perform a concert in Tasmania as part of a tour of just eight Australian locations. Sir Elton scheduled the concert in response to overwhelming support from Tasmanians expressed through their registration on a web page established for the purpose by Tourism Tasmania. The decision positioned Tasmania as an excellent destination for future high profile performers.

 

In July 2007, Tourism Tasmania was honoured by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents with the National Travel Industry Award for Best Tourist Office (National), which it won over Tourism Victoria, Tourism Queensland, Tourism Northern Territory and the South Australian Tourism Commission. Tasmania's Temptations Holidays was also nominated in the Best Wholesaler - Australian Product category.

 

Also in July 2007, The top-selling Japanese edition of Elle magazine devoted a double-page spread to Tasmania in its “110 World Spa Guide”.

The spread, entitled “Tasmania – Heaven on Earth”, featured Cradle Mountain Lodge. The lodge’s Waldheim Alpine Spa was the third spa covered in the 70-page supplement, following two spas in the Maldives.

The demand for spa and wellness experiences has been growing worldwide, encouraging a boom in spa and wellness retreats across Europe, the United States, Asia and Australia.

 

Journalist Sharon Otterman wooed residents of North America’s quintessential café society with a July 2007 New York Times article tantalising title “Tasmania Goes Boutique, Nice and Slow”.

“…a sense of energy animates [Hobart] these days, fueled by an artistic undercurrent and celebrated natural surroundings…The sidewalks still tend to roll up early…but a growing number of trendy bars vie for the city's budding Euro-chic crowd. Patrons at Tavern 42 Degrees South, arguably the city's hippest bar, nod to lounge music as they recline on 1970s-style blue-vinyl couches…”

Otterman's article reflects her impressions of Tasmania as making the transition to a new level of sophistication and confidence. She paints a picture of a Tasmania that is adding depth to its world-famous natural experiences by supporting them with tourism product of international appeal – award-winning boutique hotels, wildlife cruises, vineyards and innovative island cuisine. A version of this article also appeared in the International Herald Tribune.

 

Tasmania won two awards in the inaugural Australian Gourmet Traveller 2007 Travel Awards, which recognise Australia’s foremost travel experiences. The Islington Hotel was named Australia’s Best Boutique Hotel and the Maria Island Walk was awarded the Nation’s Best Eco-Tourism Experience by a panel of knowledgeable writers, editors, authors and television presenters.  Gourmet Traveller’s judges wrote of Hobart’s Islington, 'There is no other small hotel in Australia in the same league'. The four-day Maria Island Walk is a fully guided walk on an island which is a national park. The judges praised this family-owned venture for raising awareness of Maria Island’s beautiful, rich and fragile environment.

 

In 2006 Tasmania's Temptations Holidays was recognised by consultants at Harvey World Travel's chain of 400 plus retail travel agencies at a gala event in Queensland in early December. Tasmania 's Temptations Holidays won the esteemed Harvey World Travel Brochure of the Year award again – its eighth win in the last 10 years. The Tasmania's Temptations Holiday Book was chosen from more than 60 domestic and international airlines, wholesalers, cruise companies, and other travel product. The brochure highlights a range of Tasmanian holiday product and packages and is distributed to more than 4,000 travel agents in Australia and New Zealand. The award is further recognition from the travel industry that Tasmania 's Temptations Holidays is a first-class holiday operator, providing outstanding service to suppliers, retailers and consumers. While Tourism Tasmania moves to establish itself as a key player in the travel technology and digital arena, it is quick to recognise and support the value that comes from relationships with trade such as Harvey World Travel.

 

 

In 2006 TTF Australia - the country's peak industry group for the tourism, transport and infrastructure sectors – recognised Tourism Tasmania 's innovative partnership with cartoon giant Warner Bros. Tourism Tasmania won the Excellence in Partnership category, rewarding organisations for innovation in partnerships as part of the Tourism and Transport Forum of Australia's Corporate Leadership Awards. The annual awards are aimed at promoting business excellence and innovation for the national tourism and transport industries. TTF members include all state and territory tourism organisations, national and international air carriers, major credit card companies and Australian universities. The winning partnership, developed to raise awareness of the impact of the devastating Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumour Disease, was recognised for looking beyond boundaries to create a strategic partnership to make a substantial contribution to Tasmania 's tourism industry.

 

Pear Ridge Restaurant put Tasmania on visitors' radar with a win at the 2006 National Restaurant and Caterers Awards. Pear Ridge picked up the award in Sydney for Best Family Establishment Restaurant, outstanding recognition for a business that celebrates Tasmanian produce and service in the beautiful D'Entrecasteaux Channel.

 

Tasmanian operated World Expeditions was listed as one of the world's 50 Tours of a Lifetime in the top-selling North American magazine National Geographic Traveler. World Expeditions, the parent company of Tasmanian Expeditions, has been conducting rafting tours of the wild Franklin River since 1980.

 

In 2006 Tourism Tasmania 's North American travel agent training program was voted the Best Australian Program for the fifth consecutive year by North American travel agents. The Opal Award for Excellence (Best Australian State Tourism Organisation Program) for 2006 recognised Tourism Tasmania 's Tassie Specialist Program - a strategic training program that better equips North American travel agents to sell Tasmanian holidays.

Two of the State's leading tourism identities were named by Travel + Leisure Australia in the top 10 in the 2006 Australian Travel Innovators Awards. These awards pay tribute to individuals who, through their imagination, ideas and commitment, have changed the way we travel and enhanced Australia 's status as a destination. A combination of flair, impact and entrepreneurial skills saw Ken Latona and Flora De Kantzow both named among those to make the biggest difference to tourism in Australia . Ken Latona, environmental architect, designer and operator of Cradle Mountain Huts and the Bay of Fires guided walk, was named the No.1 tourism innovator in the country, beating a high quality field, a tremendous achievement by Ken. Flora De Kantzow was acknowledged for her contribution in changing the face of the hotel sector in Tasmania through her involvement with Hatherley House (Launceston) and the Henry Jones Art Hotel (Hobart).

 

National Geographic Traveler magazine rated the four-day Maria Island Walk the next great island walk in its 2006 list of The 30 Next Great Places To Visit. The walk also topped a recent list on the News Ltd website as one of the most beautiful islands in Australia with writer John Borthwick saying, “Riedle Beach on Maria Island … could win a gong as Australia's best, but least known beach.”

 

n 2006 the spectacular drive from Hobart to Strahan was listed as one of Australia 's iconic drives by Australian Traveller magazine. Australian Traveller writer and former Open Road editor Lee Atkinson compiled the list from her book On the Road - 40 Great Driving Holidays in Australia. She told readers driving the coast-to-coast route, 'You will find yourself skirting open paddocks, historic villages of convict built stone houses, lush rainforests, rarefied alpine wilderness and by sunset you are on a beach watching the sunset'. Atkinson told readers the best-kept secret was the Derwent Bridge Hotel and also suggested readers slow down for the Queenstown Mine Tour, the West Coast Wilderness Railway, Lake St Clair and Ocean Beach near Strahan.

Tourism Tasmania was named Best Tourist Office - National at the 2006 National Travel Industry Awards. The win was especially significant because this was the first year in which nominations were made by travel agents. In previous years State Tourism Offices have been required to nominate themselves. The award was a result of the success of Tourism Tasmania's Australia-wide 'roadshows', which allow agents and wholesalers interstate to keep up to date with Tasmanian tourism product.

 

In one of the biggest acknowledgements of its profile on the world stage, Tasmania was named No.1 Island in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific in leading Americanican travel magazine Travel + Leisure's 2006 World's Best Awards. Tasmania took out the regional title ahead of the Great Barrier Reef islands and Bora Bora. In the overall rankings (worldwide) Tasmania was voted sixth best island behind Bali, the Hawaiian islands of Kauai and Maui, Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) and Mount Desert Island (Maine).

 

In 2006, staff of Frommer’s travel guides named Tasmania’s Wineglass Bay one of their favourite beaches in the world. Wineglass Bay was the only Australian beach among the nine beaches named by Frommer’s. ‘After hiking for less than a half hour through Freycinet National Park, we came to a wooden ledge overlooking the most spectacular sight I had ever laid eyes on,’ says Frommer’s Jennifer Anmuth.  ‘I nearly ran the rest of the hike to plunk down on those smooth sands. What I remember most are the moments I spent just sitting there, as a gentle breeze blew and waves lapped at my toes, staring in amazement at this endless pool of clear blue water spilling over a shore that was literally as perfectly circular as a wine glass’s rim.’ The Frommer’s accolade is just the latest international praise for a beach that has been lauded by a host of travel magazines over many years, including Outside, which has named it one of the ten best beaches in the world.

 

Tasmania’s Avalon Coastal Retreat at Great Oyster Bay has been listed in Travel + Leisure (US) 2006 list of the World’s Next Great Beach Resorts. According to Travel + Leisure, ‘The east coast of Tasmania has been a well-kept Aussie secret for some time – and for good reason. Thanks to sheltering hills and warm offshore currents, it’s the antipodean alternative to the Mediterranean, with one of the country’s best year-round climates.’ Grabbing the attention of Travel + Leisure was the stylish Avalon Coastal Retreat, overlooking Great Oyster Bay. ‘A one-time farmhouse, it has been transformed by local architect Craig Rosevear into a three-bedroom Modernist glass house with astonishing views across the Freycinet Peninsula and National Park. The B&B doesn’t have a restaurant, but guests have access to a kitchen stocked with smoked eel and gamekeeper sausages from the Wursthaus Kitchen, Tassie’s “it” purveyor.’

 

Hobart’s Henry Jones Art Hotel won the Australian Tourism Award for New Tourism Development, 2005. The hotel has won a number of major awards since opening in 2004, including the Australian Hotel Associations Award for Excellence – Best Overall Hotel in Australia, 2005. In the same year Condé Nast Traveler named the Henry Jones Art Hotel as one of the best new hotels in the world. Another Tasmanian winner at the 2005 Australian Tourism Awards was the Gordon River Cruises taking out the Significant Tour and Transport Operators category.

 

TTourism Tasmania’s travel wholesale arm, Tasmania’s Temptations Holidays, was named Best Wholesaler - National at the National Travel Industry Awards for Excellence 2005. The award, presented by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA), recognises excellence in staff development and training, sales and marketing, and customer service. This was the third consecutive year that Tasmania’s Temptations Holidays was a finalist for the 'Best Wholesaler - National' category. Tasmania’s Temptations Holidays finished equal first with Qantas Holidays in 2003, and in 2005 won the award outright. This was a huge achievement, particularly given the quality of the competition, which included such well-known businesses as Australian Pacific Tours, Sunlover Holidays and Qantas Holidays.

 

Tasmania’s Bay of Fires was named the second most beautiful beach in the world by leading travel magazine Conde Nast Traveller - United Kingdom, June 2005 Issue. Listed only behind Anse Du Grand Colombier in St Barts (French West Indies), the Bay of Fires trumped beaches in Greece, Mexico, Thailand and Brazil in the Top 12 List. Tthe ranking was testament to the unspoilt beauty of the Bay of Fires and a terrific boost for Tasmanian tourism. Bay of Fires takes over the mantle as Australia’s most beautiful beach, outstripping the famous Bondi Beach in Sydney at number three on the list.

 

Accolades for Tasmania flowed from the prestigious US magazine The Robb Report in 2004. Writing in the November edition, Jounalist Mike Nolan was enraptured by his Tasmanian odyssey 'At the Edge of the World':

Although remnants of Tasmania's history, both human and natural abound,' says Nolan, 'it seems as though the entire island emerged from the Tasman Sea only yesterday.  So much of the land is virgin territory, and the people have yet to decide what to do with it - or, they have chosen to leave it untouched.

When night arrives [in the Bay of Fires], the sky, far away from any source of light pollution, reveals stars of unsurpassed brilliance and, to those of us who have spent the bulk of our nights under the North Star, a rare glimpse of the greater and less Magellanic Clouds galaxies.

 

Tasmania was named Best Tourist Office – National at the National Travel Industry Awards presented by the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) in Sydney during August 2004. These awards recognise excellence in staff development and training, sales and marketing, and customer service.

 

Tasmania was recognised internationally for maintaining its environmental and cultural integrity in the face of global tourism and the mounting pressures of the 21st century in 2004. It was ranked third in the world by an independent panel of more than 200 specialists in sustainable tourism and destination quality, surveyed by National Geographic Traveler magazine in conjunction with Leeds Metropolitan University in England.

Tasmania was named as one of four hot spots for travel in 2004 by the Association of British Travel Agents, alongside New Zealand, Croatia and Bulgaria.

ABTA is Britain’s leading travel trade association, representing more than 90 per cent of the UK travel industry.

 

One of Tourism Tasmania’s primary advertising campaigns was recognised with two prestigious national awards for advertising effectiveness in 2003. The Rejuvenating Journey campaign, which ran in New South Wales from October 2001 to September 2002, was recognised with the award for Best Return on Investment, and a Silver Award for Advertising Effectiveness at the AFA Effectiveness Awards.

The AFA awards followed on from our National Travel Industry Association award the previous month, with Tasmania's Temptations being named Best Wholesaler, National, alongside Qantas Holidays.

 

In February 2003 Tourism Tasmania scooped two coveted gold awards from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) for Tourism Tasmania’s international marketing campaign, and its travel media website.

This was Tourism Tasmania’s third time to score double gold in the Awards. In 1997 the organisation won the Best Travel Poster and Best Electronic Media categories: in 1999 it was recognised for its international marketing campaign, and for a public relations campaign Tourism Awareness Week (1998).

 

Tourism Tasmania was presented with two Australian Marketing Institute state awards for the Overall Marketing Strategy (Public Sector) and the Tourism and Leisure sector.

The Tourism and Leisure award recognised our international marketing strategy, which has seen the state outstrip the nation in international visitor growth - 42.5 per cent in the five years to December 2001, compared to 19.2 per cent nationally.

The Overall Marketing Strategy (Public Sector) award, which was announced during September 2002 in Queensland, recognised our achievements in overcoming the state's access barriers, particularly after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the collapse of Ansett soon after.

 

Tourism Tasmania was voted the number one tourism office servicing Australia at the 10th annual National Travel Industry Awards for excellence and achievement in the Australian travel industry. Travel consultants and agency managers from around Australia voted Tourism Tasmania the Tourist Office of the Year in the NTIA Awards.

Tourism Tasmania beat the Canadian Tourist Office, Irish Tourist Office, New Zealand Tourism, and the Singapore Tourist Board. We were nominated for our professional and friendly customer service, high-quality, effective marketing campaigns, and relationships and dealings with agents.

As well as being the only domestic organisation nominated, Tourism Tasmania was up against some of the largest agencies serving Australia. This nomination is testament to Tourism Tasmania’s continued commitment to the growth of tourism in the state, and Australia.

 

Tasmania exceeded all expectations at the 2002 World’s Best Awards conducted by North America’s top-selling holiday magazine Travel + Leisure.

Readers voted Tasmania the best island in Australia, New Zealand the South Pacific – a gong that ultimately ranked Tasmania as the second most popular island destination in the world.

In its regional category, Tasmania was placed ahead of destinations like Fiji, Tahiti, the Great Barrier Reef islands, New Caledonia, Cook Islands and Vanuatu.

“Overall, Tasmania has been ranked second behind only Bali – by less than one point – and ahead of other internationally-recognised holiday hot-spots including Maui, Hawaii, Sicily.”

 

Tourism Tasmania has been recognised with another national award – this time for the Tasmania Holiday Planner, which has won the Travel and Leisure category of the Australian Catalogue Awards.

The award was presented to Victoria state manager Mark Windsor on behalf of the company at a gala function in Melbourne.

The Tasmania Holiday Planner, a cornerstone of the Rejuvenating Journeys marketing campaign, scored highly with the judges, winning ahead of about 25 entries from around Australia and New Zealand.

Readers of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine have voted Tasmania the world's friendliest island in the magazine's annual Readers' Choice Awards of 2001.

This is the third year running that the State has received a significant accolade from the prestigious North American travel magazine. In 1999 and again 2000, Tasmania was named the World's Best Temperate Island. This year Santorini scooped that award – Tasmania came seventh – but the State was named number one for friendliness.

'We continually get feedback from our international visitors that the unforced friendliness of Tasmanians is one of the highlights of their visit,' said Tourism Tasmania Chief Executive Rob Giason. 'This has certainly been acknowledged with this year's readers' poll in Conde Nast Traveler.'

Both the Tasmania Holiday Planner 2000/2001 and Tasmania's Temptations Holiday Book, were Highly Commended at the Annual Australian Catalogue 2001 Awards.

The awards recognise excellence in catalogue production, design and effectiveness. Each entry was scored by the various key elements that make up a catalogue, including the impact of the covers, internal design, photography, merchandising, branding, copywriting and selling power.

 

Hong Kong based journalist Mike Currie wrote about Tasmania in a feature article in the South China Morning Post entitled "Tasmania's Devils", and went on to receive a coveted Pacific Asia Travel Assn (PATA) Gold Award, April 2001. His award was in the category "Travel Journalism - Destination Article - Newspaper".
Extracts from that article are in our Quotes section ...

 

Tasmania was described as one of the major global hot spots of 2001 by a major travel magazine.

Tasmania ranked third in the top 11 future travel destinations as part of Travel and Leisure's list of 100 Fabulous Places (and things) for 2001.

The magazine described Tasmania as "the next hot eco-travel destination". The piece on Tasmania went on to say: "Encompassing much of the western half of the island, Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park is a dream of glacial lakes, alpine moorlands, and rain forests.

"…On Tasmania's east coast, Freycinet National Park has vast white beaches and pink granite mountains. "Tassie" also has some of Australia's best B&B's, many of which have taken over 19th-century Georgian mansions..."

 

Tasmania was voted the best temperate island by the world's largest travel magazine for the second year running.

United States readers of Conde Nast Traveler^* ranked Tasmania and tropical island Maui the world's best holiday islands as part of the Readers Choice Awards.

 

A Tasmanian adventure holiday has been included in an international list of 100 great trips for the 21^st century.
North America's top-selling holiday magazine, Travel and Leisure, in their January 2000 edition, nominated Asia Transpacific Journeys' 13-day Discover Tasmania tour in their Adventure (safaris and treks) section.

Its readers said "Seasoned travellers love being the first to discover the next great destination..to explore an authentic, radically different world, one still untouched by mass tourism."

 

Hobart was included in a list of the 10 most photogenic cities in the world during 2000.
In USA TODAY, Lonely Planet photographer Glenn Beanland wrote about his favourite cities. The New York-based newspaper has a circulation of 1.6 million and claims 15 million readers.
Mr Beanland highlighted Mount Wellington, Salamanca Market and Hobart’s well-preserved colonial, fine Georgian architecture.
Hobart was listed among popular cities such as Vienna, New York City, and Edinburgh.

Tasmania has been ranked second in a list of the world's 10 best-value islands for the second consecutive year. Readers of North America's top-selling holiday magazine, Travel and Leisure have again placed Tasmania behind only the Great Barrier Reef and ahead of islands such as Bali, Phuket, Sicily, Maui and Crete, as a value-for-money destination.

The awards are based on a postal survey of tens of thousands of Travel and Leisure readers.
Travel and Leisure has a circulation of one million readers.

Tasmania has been voted the best temperate island by the world's largest travel magazine. United States subscribers of Conde Nast Traveler ranked Tasmania and tropical island Maui the world's best holiday islands as part of the Reader Choice Awards.

It is the most prestigious destination award Tasmania had ever won and placed the State ahead of Vancouver Island, Canada and Mount Desert Island in Maine, US.

(Conde Nast Traveler has a total readership of about 770,000 in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. Conde Nast Traveler has a reputation for independence in covering travel stories around the world.
It maintains a strong policy of not accepting free or discounted travel or accommodation).

One of North America's biggest-selling newspapers, The Chicago Tribune, has named Strahan on Tasmania's West Coast as the Best Little Town in the World.

In an article in the Chicago Tribune, travel editor Randy Curwen nominated Strahan for the Best Little Town in the World title, stating:

"With fewer than 1,000 year-round residents, this is the only settlement on the entire south-western coast of Tasmania.

"Getting here can be an experience; the last bus we took on the six hour trip from Hobart doubled as a school bus for more than 20 raucous 7th to 12th graders who commute 25 miles each day to school.

"Downtown is a one-block postcard shot, and the only real nightlife is the spectacular sunset over Australia's largest bay. The only real game in town is adventure, from soft to hardy: cruises on the harbour, hikes into the wilderness, jet boat rides, walks on a nearby beach. A perfect away-from-it-all place for a few days."

Tourism Tasmania was recognised as a State leader in public sector marketing, at the national Australian Marketing Institute conference in Queensland, August 1999.

Tourism Tasmania Chief Executive Rob Giason said the award was an important tribute to the leading edge work of Tourism Tasmania, which operated in a highly competitive national and international environment.

"The award acknowledges Tourism Tasmania's commitment to professional marketing practices, which are crucial in maintaining Tasmania's position as an appealing visitor destination."

Wineglass Bay on Tasmania's East Coast has once again been ranked among the world's top beaches. The spectacular coastal strip fringing Freycinet National Park, was one of five Australian beaches to make the top 50 list compiled by the daily British broadsheet, The Independent.

The list was published in the newspaper's weekend magazine, which has a circulation of more than 220,000.

The best beaches were ranked by a panel consisting of travel experts, a photographer and marine conservationist from the United Kingdom.

And early in 2000, the prestigious magazine Outside rated Wineglass Bay in the world's top 10 beaches.

Tourism Tasmania won two prestigious Gold Awards at the 1999 PATA conference - Nagoya April '99 - one was for "Tourism Awareness Week" (1998)

Tourism is Tasmania's fastest growing industry. It contributes $735 million a year to the economy and provides jobs for 18,700 people.

Despite being a powerful, positive force in the Tasmanian economy, its potential is not fully understood and its benefits are too readily taken for granted. This lack of awareness has created large pockets of complacency within the State, ultimately hindering growth in the tourism sector, and indeed Tasmania.

 

For further information contact Tourism Tasmania's Communications Unit

(03) 6230 8244
email mediainfo@tourism.tas.gov.au