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Industry - Newsletter
Tourism Talk Edition 246
TASMANIA TOPS THE NATION AT GOURMET TRAVEL AWARDS
The Tasmanian tourism industry has outclassed its mainland counterparts by achieving the status of most decorated state as voted by readers of Australian Gourmet Traveller.
Four Tasmanian tourism ventures were declared Australia’s best at the 2008 Australian Gourmet Traveller Travel Awards held in Sydney on Monday night.
Approximately 4,000 readers voted for the awards, which recognise the pioneers and champions of the Australian tourism industry.
The four Tasmanian winners are:
- Freycinet Experience Walk – best ecotourism experience.
- The Port Arthur Historic Site – best heritage tourism destination.
- Cradle Mountain Lodge – best lodge accommodation.
- Maria Island Walk – best adventure tourism award
In a further boost to the State’s tourism credentials, six industry experts voted Maria Island Walk the nation’s best ecotourism initiative.
Tourism Tasmania Chief Executive, Felicia Mariani praised the winners on their achievement and said the accolade shows Tasmania is well-placed to build on the strength of its natural assets.
The Australian Gourmet Traveller magazine is arguably the country’s premier travel and food magazine with an overall readership of 300,000.
This year’s Tasmanian Tourism Conference has an impressive line-up of speakers discussing a range of issues impacting on the Tasmanian tourism industry.
The conference, which is being held at the Launceston Country Club on Tuesday 15 July 2008, will be officially opened by the Minister for Economic Development and Tourism, the Hon. Paula Wriedt MP.
The key theme for the conference is sustainability: how we can build a sustainable future for Tasmania’s tourism industry.
Other notable speakers during the Business Sessions include Tourism Tasmania’s Chief Executive, Felicia Mariani and Director of Marketing and Commercial Operations, Jan Ross.
Professor Malcolm Wells from the University of Tasmania’s School of Management will be presenting the latest research on climate change and tourism.
Cultural guru Leo Schofield will give a presentation on arts, culture and heritage; while KPMG will provide information on financial sustainability relevant to our tourism industry.
Hosted by the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania (TICT), the 2008 Conference is expected to be a sell out, so be sure to register soon to avoid missing out.
For more information about the day’s events and to register your attendance please visit theTICT website.
Or contact the Tourism Industry Council directly on phone: (03) 6224 1930 or email: info@tict.com.au.
An exhibition of artwork produced during a trip to Tasmania, arranged as a part of the Visiting Journalist Program, has raised $12,826 for the University of Tasmania Foundation’s Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal.
The ‘Devils in Paradise’ exhibition was held at the Bett Gallery in North Hobart last year during Tasmanian Living Artists Week, and featured the work of group of nine high-profile visual artists, who spent eight days travelling around Tasmania together, creating paintings and drawings on location.
Throughout the eight-day visit the artists were accompanied by a team from Travel + Leisure Australia, who documented the trip for a seven-page feature in the October edition of the magazine.
The artists were so enamoured with Tasmania and its vibrant arts community that they decided to return to the State for Living Artists Week 2007.
Each artist also donated a piece of work each to be auctioned for the Save the Tasmanian Devil Program.
One of the artists, Tasmanian David Keeling and gallery owner, Dick Bett, presented the $12,826 cheque to the Minister for Primary Industries and Water, David Llewellyn last week.
You can view all the work from the Devils in Paradise exhibition on the Bett Gallery’s website.
UPCOMING EVENT: ANTARCTIC MIDWINTER FESTIVAL
Hobart’s Antarctic Midwinter Festival is just two weeks away.
The ten-day festival celebrates Tasmania’s living and historical links with Antarctica and marks the midwinter solstice, the longest night of the year.
Last year 40,000 Tasmanians turned out to enjoy the festival events including the Huskies’ Picnic, the Longest Night Film Festival, Solstice Antarctica and the Extreme Photography exhibition.
The Extreme Photography exhibition has developed into a festival highlight and involves a $5,000 prize – one of Australia’s richest prizes for a single image. The competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers and entries are expected from all over the world.
This year’s festival sees the return of the inaugural Antarctic Midwinter Festival Director Paul Cullen, who is back in Hobart after several years living and working in Ireland.
Paul says Hobart is ‘really buzzing’ and he expects the Midwinter Festival to attract visitors from across Australia to Hobart.
The Antarctic Midwinter Festival runs from Friday 20 June to Sunday 29 June 2008, with event details to be soon posted on the event website: www.antarctic-tasmania.info
LAST CHANCE TO NOMINATE A DESERVING TASMANIAN
Nominations for the prestigious 2008 Tasmanian of the Year close next Friday.
If you know someone in the tourism industry deserving of this award then submit a nomination form with a testimonial of no more than 100 words to the Tasmania Committee Inc by Friday 13 June 2008.
Leading tourism industry figure Simon Currant received the 2004 award, which honours and celebrates initiative, creativity and inspiration while making a positive contribution to the Tasmanian community.
Information on nominations and the selection criteria can be found at www.lovethisplace.com.au.
Any queries may be directed to Chris Guesdon, General Manager, Tasmania Love This Place.
PO Box 648, Sandy Bay 7006
Phone: (03) 6225 2678
Email: tascommittee@lovethisplace.com.au
Tourism Tasmania’s online Visual Library has just released some new photographic images.
Twice a month, the latest images are displayed on Tourism Tasmania’s media website.
To access these and thousands more images you’ll need to be a registered member of the Visual Library. Registration is easy, just go to www.discovertasmania.com/visuals and follow the registration process. You’ll then be able to search, order and download a huge range of Tasmanian images online.
Just one addition to the TigerTour database this week:
- Prestige Leisure Tours, Launceston.
Tourism Tasmania’s TigerTOUR database feeds information about tourism product directly into the consumer website discovertasmania.com.
Tourism Tasmania’s Product Consultants can assist you updating your business details, email: TigerTOUR@tourism.tas.gov.au or phone: (03) 6230 8229.