SA Destinations the Winners in Tourism Awards

South Australian holiday experiences have scooped the pool in an inaugural awards’ program run by inbound travel magazine, Travelling in Australia.

Tourism Minister Jane Lomax-Smith says that, of the 20 awards up for grabs, South Australia won four – the equal best result of all states.

“These awards have extra credibility because they are voted on by the travel agents from around the world who recommend and book Australian holidays for international visitors.

“The results show that we are successfully marketing South Australia’s world-class holiday experiences on an international stage,” Dr Lomax-Smith says.

Kangaroo Island was voted Best Eco Experience, while Bookabee Australia took out the Best Indigenous Experience category. Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island was voted Best New Product Experience and Rodney Fox Great White Shark Expeditions was judged Best Adventure Experience.

South Australian experiences were also runners up in three categories: Best Walking Experience (Adelaide Central Market Tour), Best Cultural Historic Experience (Australian Aboriginal Cultures Gallery) and Best Food & Beverage Destination Experience (Barossa).

“I’d like to congratulate all the South Australian winners – the number of categories across which South Australian tourism products won shows the huge range of holiday experiences on offer in our State,” Minister Lomax-Smith says.

“Travelling in Australia is a magazine read by 15,000 members of the travel trade around the world, as well as some of the top executives internationally and the CEOs of Australia’s top 500 companies.

“The results of its inaugural awards will be read by the exact high-yield visitors we are targeting with our marketing campaigns, as well as by the people in the travel trade who influence consumers’ choices when it comes to holidays.

“South Australia has so much to offer international travellers when it comes to tourism, and it’s especially pleasing to see Kangaroo Island being recognised as the best ‘eco tourism’ destination, and Kangaroo Island’s sustainable, world-class wilderness lodge, Southern Ocean Lodge, being recognised in the ‘best new product’ category.

“The South Australian Government is committed to growing the State’s tourism industry in a sustainable way, and South Australia is a leader in the growing field of ‘environmentally-friendly’ holidays.”

by the Mole