The Greater Sydney Tourism Awards Gala Dinner was held on the 19th July at the Doltone House, Sylvania Waters, where 37 finalists eagerly awaited the announcement the winners for 2012.

The winners were declared and celebrated in an evening of festivities hosted by Andrew Daddo and attended by over 200 tourism industry representatives. The Gala Dinner was an evening that epitomised the excellence, passion and spirit that makes the tourism industry in Greater Sydney shine, with great food, great entertainment, and of course lots of great winning smiles!

16 entries were awarded the grand achievement of a Gold Winner Award, with most awarded automatic finalist status for the NSW Tourism Awards to be held on 22nd, November 2012.

The process was rigorous and solid with 19 judges involved in the process which was fully audited by Baker & Baptist Pty Ltd. The Greater Sydney Tourism Awards are designed to not only recognise achievements but to provide valuable feedback to the businesses on how to improve their businesses for a greater return.

The winners for 2012 are as follows:

Local Government Award for Tourism
AWARD WINNER Sutherland Shire Tourism

Specialised Tourism Services
AWARD WINNER Mowbray Park Farm Holidays

Festivals & Events
AWARD WINNER International Sand Sculpting Competition

Tourist Attractions
AWARD WINNER Featherdale Wildlife Park

Heritage & Cultural Tourism
AWARD WINNER Cronulla & National Park Ferry Cruises

Tour & Transport
AWARD WINNER Life's An Adventure

Adventure Tourism
AWARD WINNER Life’s An Adventure

Registered Clubs
AWARD WINNER Richmond Club

Tourism Education & Training
AWARD WINNER Travel 21fiftythree, Western Sydney Institute of TAFE

Unique Accommodation
AWARD WINNER Calabash Bay Lodge

Deluxe Accommodation
AWARD WINNER The Sebel Resort & Spa Hawkesbury Valley

Ecotourism
AWARD WINNER Royal Coast Walks

Judges Commendation Award for Tourism Business Excellence
AWARD WINNER Trainworks

Westlink M7 Greater Sydney Champion Award
AWARD WINNER Cornwallis House

People’s Choice Award
AWARD WINNER Bundeena Kayaks & Stand Up Paddle Boards

Outstanding Contribution by an Individual Award
AWARD WINNER Jenny-Lee Stefas

The Chairman of Greater Sydney Tourism Inc, Mr Paul Page, congratulated the winners and said “This event has managed to gain great recognition for the businesses in the Greater Sydney area that sometimes are placed in a hard task of competing with the city locations”. Paul continued to say it was a great night and it was wonderful to see so many people and businesses being part of celebrating the tourism industry.

Westlink M7, the principle supporter of this year’s event, is an advocate of the importance of visitors to the Greater Sydney region. Jeff McCarthy, Executive General Manager of Westlink M7 said today, “We are pleased to be the Principle Partner in the 2012 Greater Sydney Tourism Awards, which recognises the achievements of local tourism businesses in the Greater Sydney area. The M7 makes it easy for visitors to visit local tourism attractions such as the Western Sydney Parklands, Olympic sites, and Hawkesbury Harvest to name a few”.

The Hon Graham Annesley MP, Minister for Sport and Recreation, represented the Minister for Tourism and Major Events, the Hon George Souris MP, at the Awards and said, “As the Minister for Sport & Recreation, I get to meet quite a few individuals and team sport participants, many of them elite athletes and leaders in their chosen field. Tonight we are here to acclaim elite businesspeople, leaders in their chosen field, who have justly earned respect and praise.” Minister Annesley congratulated the efforts of Greater Sydney tourism operators and emphasised their contribution to the further growth and development of tourism across NSW.

This awards program is strongly supported by advocates of economic return to the Greater Sydney region, such as Westlink M7, Destination NSW, Sutherland Shire Council, ANSTO, Aurora Research, Datatrax Touchscreens, Stralia Web, Adstyle Graphic Design, Adelphi Print and Pack 2 Go mobile technology. In addition, the following councils are committed to tourism growth in their area and have partnered in this program; Penrith City Council, Hills Shire Council, Sutherland Shire Council, Macarthur region & Hawkesbury City Council.