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Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon Tourism Announces Awards of Excellence 2010

Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon Tourism Awards of Excellence 2010

The Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon Tourism Awards of Excellence 2010 Gala Dinner was held at Fairmont Resort, Friday night, 6 August. The Awards of Excellence are held annually to celebrate and acknowledge tourism businesses in the region that have demonstrated outstanding achievement and success throughout the year.

Following a Welcome to Country from Aunty Mary King and Uncle Graeme Cooper, the venue host, General Manager, Geoff York then welcomed guests to the Fairmont Resort to which the audience responded with loud applause.

Winners in a record eighteen categories were announced during the evening including three special individual awards. Each winner is now an automatic Finalist in the NSW Tourism Awards held in November.

"We are delighted to see an increase in category winners, up from fifteen in 2009 to twenty this year. This will represent increased exposure for our region at the State awards. We thank all awards entrants for making the effort to enter and hope they enjoy the benefits that flow from the awards submission process which involves an assessment of key aspects of their business", said Blue Mountains Lithgow and Oberon Tourism (BMLOT) Chairman Randall Walker.

Justine Cooper - Director, Marketing and Communications, Tourism NSW attended the evening and screened the current TV advertisement based on the new NSW branding "See where it takes you".

This year's winners

The new positioning of the State based on the concept that NSW is full of 'remarkable journeys' will be a good fit with the Greater Blue Mountains Drive and Tablelands Way.

Ms Cooper went on to present the award for Tourism Education and Training which was won again by Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School. Last year this winner went on to win the category at the NSW Awards and Australian Awards levels.

Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa, Major Sponsor of the awards for a second year, won New Tourism Development for its luxury eco resort in the Wolgan Valley. General Manager Joost Heymeijer was thrilled with the win, thanked his team and identified the "significant injection into the regional economy by the project, including two and a half thousand jobs during the construction phase". He went on to state with good humour "This is the only category we were able to enter this year as all others are based on the requirement to be trading for a full financial year. Next year you can expect more entries from us in more categories."

The awards represented a great night for Jenolan Caves with four category wins including Tourist Attractions, Old Leura Dairy with three category wins including Excellence in Sustainable Tourism and Blue Mountains National Park, NPWS with two category wins.

The Special Awards recognising individuals were a surprise to the recipients on the night. Young Achiever in Tourism was won by Michael Brischetto of The Carrington Hotel, working long hours to contribute directly to the hotel, the tourism industry by serving on the BMLOT Board and looking after marketing including sales missions and contributing to the community through activities such as the Winter Magic Festival.

Outstanding Contribution to Regional Tourism won last year by Philip Hammon of Scenic World, was presented this year by Philip to Tim Tranter of Tread Lightly Eco Tours for his outstanding contribution over a period of time with product and service quality, eco tourism accreditation, Past President of Blue Mountains Tourism Limited and passion for the World Heritage Area including the course he wrote and delivers for TAFE Blue Mountains.

Outstanding Contribution to Tourism by an individual was won by Garry Crockett who not only owns and operates Mountain Heritage Hotel and Spa Retreat which celebrated the' 30th year of Yulefest this year, Falls Mountain Retreat and Yester Grange but undertakes other local developments through the Crockett Group. He also has a significant tourism project underway in Victoria. Garry also serves as National President of the Hotel Motel and Accommodation Association and on many other tourism related bodies. He offers frequent support to the Board of BMLOT and often identifies opportunities that will benefit the region.

This year's sponsors

Award Winners