Ipswich City Council has won two major tourism awards as visitor numbers to the region soar.
Mayor Andrew Antoniolli said the Ipswich Visitor Information Centre won a Gold Award in the Visitor Information and Services category at the Queensland Tourism Awards on Saturday.
And Discover Ipswich, the region’s favourite website and magazine for all the “fun Things to Do, Places to See and Eat in Ipswich” also won Gold – the Richard Power Award for Destination Marketing, for its strong strategy, collaborative approach, effective execution and rapid results.
“The prestigious Queensland Tourism Awards celebrate the dedicated individuals and successful operators of the state’s $25 billion tourism industry,” Cr Antoniolli said.
“Tourism numbers across Ipswich topped more than 2 million last year and that is expected to grow again in 2018. These awards recognise the fantastic effort we have put into boosting tourism opportunities in the region in recent years.”
A proud Libraries and Tourism Committee Chairperson Cr David Pahlke said both awards were well-deserved.
“We had an outstanding result for the city. We went up against the best Queensland has to offer and came out with two prestigious awards,” he said.
“We have the best information centre in Queensland, second to none.
“It is recognition of the outstanding work our volunteers do and their selfless service to the city. The 32 volunteers combined have over 1200 years of experience in the region. This is the fifth time the visitor information centre has won this prestigious award.
“And Ipswich won the destination marketing award ahead of the more renowned tourist destinations across Queensland, we knocked off the beaches, theme parks, reefs and resorts that normally get all the recognition.
“Rarely will you see a city in Queensland with no beaches receive an award for destination marketing excellence. An outstanding result for Queensland’s Heritage City, and a region that has never felt so young.”
The Ipswich Visitor Information Centre won first prize ahead of the Kuranda Visitor Information Centre and the Hervey Bay Visitor Information Centre.
It also won the Hall of Fame Award in 2015 for winning the Visitor Information Services Gold in three consecutive years (2013-15). It was exempt from entering again until this year.
Discover Ipswich finished in top spot ahead of the Townsville North Queensland 2017 Events Campaign and the Tourism Noosa 2016-17 Interstate Marketing Campaign.
Queensland’s Gold Business Award winners gain automatic entry into the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, which will be held in Perth on 23 February 2018.
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