Australia's Best - Whitsundays Brings Home Three Australian Tourism Awards

The Whitsundays boasts Australia's best caravan/camping accommodation, best tour and best business events following a hugely successful night at the Australian Tourism Awards in Hobart on Friday.

Queensland won five gold awards with three of them being from the Whitsundays.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort (Caravan and Camping), Ocean Rafting (Tour and/or Transport Operator) and Hamilton Island conferences (Business Tourism) were all crowned best in Australia, with Audi Hamilton Island Race Week (Major Festivals and Events), Hamilton Island Palm Bungalows (Standard Accommodation) and Ocean Rafting (Adventure Tourism) also bringing home bronze medals.

Wings Diving Adventures were also finalists in the Ecotourism category.

Whitsundays Marketing and Development Limited (WMDL) Chief Executive Officer Danial Rochford was at the awards and said it was a huge night for the local industry. "These awards reflect the hard work of these operators and their teams and we hope this great reward will put the Whitsundays region in the spotlight on the national and world tourism stage," Mr Rochford said.

"To be able to boast the majority of Queensland's winners, and for a relatively small region to win more awards than all of Victoria is huge recognition of the very healthy and innovative tourism industry we have in the Whitsundays," he said.

"I highly commend the three winners as well as the other finalists who have done our wonderful region so proud."

The Qantas Australian Tourism Awards recognise the exceptional contribution of tourism businesses, service providers and individuals to the multi-billion dollar Australian tourism industry.