Surf Coast attractions hailed at Victorian Tourism Awards

TOURISM attractions and services from across the Geelong region are among the top winners in this year’s Victorian Tourism Awards.

Hosted annually by the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC), the awards honour business excellence and performance within the industry.

This year, 111 submissions were made, all vying for an award across 31 various categories.

In only its second year of operations, Wildlife Wonders in Apollo Bay was awarded Silver for Tourist Attractions and Bronze for Ecotourism.

 

Wildlife Wonders co-founder Lizzie Corke said the wins reflected how the ecotourism attraction engaged people with nature and invested all proceeds in conservation.

“The experience introduces people to animals they have never seen before and are unlikely to see in the wild, such as potoroos and bandicoots, and shares the story of how the Conservation Ecology Centre is working to protect these species across the Otways.

“Through this social enterprise model, every visitor to Wildlife Wonders becomes part of something bigger – the sale of every ticket helps support the research and conservation efforts, which are vital for protecting nature and wildlife.”

Elsewhere on the Surf Coast, Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism was a highly commended finalist in the Tourism Marketing and Campaigns category for its 52 Great Weekends campaign, and Torquay-founded Blackman’s Brewery was a finalist in the Tourism Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries category.

Other local category award winners and finalists were:

Tourist Attractions – Gold, Adventure Park Geelong

Major Festivals and Events – Silver, Foo Fighters concert presented by Always Live and Frontier Touring at Kardinia Park

Festivals and Events – Silver, Adventure Park’s Winter Glow Festival

Cultural Tourism – Gold, Geelong Gallery

Major Tour and Transport Operators – Gold, Searoad Ferries

Tourism Marketing and Campaigns – Bronze, Tourism Greater Geelong & the Bellarine

New Tourism Business – Finalist, Splatters Cheese Bar

Self Contained Accommodation – Gold, The Woods Ocean Grove

Tourism Education and Training – Gold, Tourism Greater Geelong & the Bellarine

Excellence in Accessible Tourism – Silver, Accessible Accommodation.

VTIC held the ceremony for the Victorian Tourism Awards on Thursday last week, and chief executive Felicia Mariani said the initiative showcased some of the most compelling experiences in Victorian tourism.

“Over 950 tourism and events operators came together last night to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of their teams and the industry as a whole.

“VTIC is proud to deliver such an important event for our industry, that highlights the innovation, passion, and professionalism that our operators exhibit every day in creating magical moments for their visitors.

“We congratulate all our Gold, Silver and Bronze category winners, along with all of this year’s finalists, who represent the exemplars across Victoria in delivering excellence to their guests.”