A CORKER of a night for Coffs Harbour tourism businesses saw Coffs Coast operators win one induction to the Hall of Fame, three gold medals, plus silver and bronze honours in the NSW Tourism Awards 2021.

These Awards are presented in partnership with the NSW Government and Destination NSW and occurred as a virtual event last Thursday night, 3 February.

Advertise with News of The Area today.
It’s worth it for your business.
Message us.
Phone us – (02) 4981 8882.
Email us – media@newsofthearea.com.au

In its 31st year, the NSW Tourism Awards celebrate business excellence, acknowledge business innovation and reward exceptional customer service across 25 categories.

It provides the opportunity to publicly recognise and showcase the State’s tourism operators.

Category winners will go on to represent NSW at the national Australian Tourism Awards on Friday, 18 March 2022.

Riverside Holiday Resort Urunga was inducted into the NSW Tourism Awards Hall of Fame.

Rebecca Beaton, Resort Manager and the Federation of Community, Sporting & Workers Clubs (FCSWC) Group’s Marketing Manager told News Of The Area, “Entering the Hall of Fame is our highest achievement.”

The business also won Gold in the Self-Contained Accommodation category and Gold in Excellence in Accessible Tourism.

Read more in NOTA’s story on Riverside Holiday Resort in this issue.

Winning Silver for its Self-Contained Accommodation offer was Observatory Holiday Apartments, Coffs Harbour.

Lydia Crossingham, Manager at Observatory Holiday Apartments told NOTA, “After a very challenging twelve months it is very rewarding to be recognised at the NSW Tourism Awards.

“We are focused on providing excellent service for our guests and continue to look for innovative ways to improve and this was the main focus of our submission.

“The award is a testament to the hard working Observatory team and I thank all of them immensely.

“Even though the live Sydney Awards event was cancelled, in true Coffs fashion our local operators came together for the Virtual Awards event to acknowledge all our achievements over the last two years, which was fitting as many of our achievements have happened by working together collaboratively.

“Critters Distillery, a finalist in the Awards, hosted an excellent event and it was great to be able to celebrate together when the awards were announced, along with friends from Coffs Coast Tourism.”

The Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism category saw Coffs win Gold and Bronze.

The Gold winner was The Giingan Experience by Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation, Coffs Harbour.
The Bronze winner was Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours, Coffs Harbour.

The Adventure Tourism category saw Coffs Skydivers, Coffs Harbour win Bronze.

Kerry Weldon, Administration/CFO told NOTA, “We were thrilled to be recognised as serving our community and the greater community through tourism excellence.

“Our highly qualified team members are passionate about skydiving, loving life, having fun and making human connections.

“Being a small boutique operation allows us the time to provide our customers an exceptional and personalised experience.

“We create an environment that allows them to dive into their souls by flirting with the unknown whilst having the time of their lives.

“Our instructors guide them into places within themselves, they may only ever have dreamed of.

“With group workshops being the focus in 2022 we are dedicated to support you and/or your teams to fly again after Covid-19.”

Michael Thurston, General Manager, Destination North Coast told NOTA, “The North Coast continued our legacy of achieving a high volume of award recipients at the NSW tourism awards with the Coffs Coast having a particularly exceptional night.

“These awards are secured through years of dedication and exceptional service and the breadth of awards received by operators across the Coffs Coast is a fantastic endorsement for the region.

“The Coffs Coast dominated multiple categories including Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism, Self-Contained Accommodation and Adventure Tourism.

“A special mention for the Riverside Holiday Resort Urunga that won two awards and the much-deserved induction into the NSW Hall of Fame.”

By Andrea FERRARI