Page 794 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 February 2010

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Qantas Australian tourism awards

MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Planning, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation and Minister for Gaming and Racing) (4.49): Tomorrow evening is the tourism industry’s night of nights. The Qantas Australian tourism awards will be held in Hobart. The ACT and region will be represented at these awards by 13 outstanding tourism businesses, national institutions or events.

We will be represented in a number of major categories. For the big one, the tourist attraction of the year, our ACT nominee is Questacon, the National Science and Technology Centre. Questacon won the ACT award in November last year. In the category of major festivals and events, Floriade 21—Films that shaped our nation will represent the ACT. In the categories of festivals and events, the National Folk Festival will be put forward as the ACT nomination.

We will also be represented in the specialised tourism services category through the Australian Institute of Sport tours and, in the visitor information and services category, through the Canberra and Region Visitors Centre. In the category of tourism and marketing, the National Gallery of Australia’s Degas: master of French art exhibition is the ACT winner and will represent the territory.

In the tourism, education and training award, a previous national winner will again be representing the territory—the Canberra Institute of Technology’s Tourism and Hotel Management Centre. In the category of tourism, restaurants and catering services, Ginger Catering will be the ACT representative. A favourite of mine in the tourism, wineries, distilleries and boutique breweries category, in my electorate, Mount Majura Vineyard will be representing the ACT.

Mr Rattenbury: Are you a regular?

MR BARR: I am indeed a regular. Just proving how generous we are as a tourism region, the ACT will be represented by the Thredbo Youth Hostel Association in the backpacker accommodation category; in hosted accommodation, Country Guesthouse Schonegg; and in the deluxe accommodation category, the Novotel Canberra. Our representative in the new tourism development category will be the National Portrait Gallery of Australia.

I will be going to Hobart tomorrow to attend the awards. I look forward to the ACT being successful in a number of categories. We have a very fine record. Over the years we have won more awards in this small jurisdiction than our population would perhaps suggest we are entitled to. I would like to take this opportunity in advance of the awards to wish each of the ACT entrants all the very best for the awards tomorrow night. I look forward to celebrating again the success of the ACT tourism industry in the national awards.


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