Whitsundays own Nathan Fleming takes out the Young Industry Legend Award at the inaugural Adventure Tourism Awards

Adventure Queensland (AQ), the peak backpacking and independent travel industry body for Queensland hosted the Adventure Tourism Awards and Youth Tourism Conference on the Gold Coast on Wednesday 14 November 2018. The industry led awards program and the conference is a first for the backpacker and youth travel Industry.

Representing the Whitsundays region, a contingent of industry attended the conference and awards.

Reconfirming strength in the Adventure Tourism sector, Whitsundays industry were finalists in three categories on the night including Tourism Whitsundays members True Blue Sailing in the Best Tour category for Queensland and Whitsundays Sailing Adventures in the Ecotourism category.

The award of the night, the Young Industry Legend Award was taken out by our very own Nathan Fleming.

Tourism Whitsunday CEO Natassia Wheeler said that it was great to see the Whitsundays industry recognised throughout the evening.

"We could not be prouder of our very own Nathan Fleming who won the Young Industry Legend Award. Nathan has worked for a number of youth adventure products throughout Queensland, however, has been a stand out through his role with Ocean Rafting.”

"When you think about people you want to work with, you are often drawn to people because of the qualities they bring to a team or environment. Nathan is one of those people when you are around him, he makes you feel welcome and valued. When you listen to him, he speaks positive and true, not just about the products he is representing but about fellow products and colleagues in the industry. He is the ultimate team player and collaborator, traits that will take an industry a long way, yet traits that are often lost through competition. Nathan is one of the good eggs!”

Jan Claxton, owner of Ocean Rafting said "We are so incredibly proud of Nathan for winning this award. He truly deserves it for the amazing work he does to not only promote our products but the destinations and industry in general. He is so committed, passionate and hardworking, with so many outstanding qualities and ethics which can be very hard to find. He is definitely one of a kind and is very deserving of this recognition for his outstanding contribution to the tourism industry.”

The Adventure Tourism sector is a vital part of the Australian and especially Whitsundays tourism offering. These awards are made extra special with the inclusion of consumer voting and the expert individual judging panel weighted evenly.

This year, the awards covered 31 categories recognising the best of the best in online travel agents, tour/activity and accommodation. Entrants were judged based on their individual points of difference, unique selling points customer reviews, business achievements and their links to the Adventure Tourism industry.