100% Success Rate at State Tourism Awards!
Posted on November 16th, 2015
Front Row: L2R – Mary Carroll CEO Capricorn Enterprise, Denis Cox CEO Beef Australia, Rebecca Cassidy Empire Apartment Hotel
Back Row: L2R – Deanne Bowd Capricorn Enterprise, Leanne Morgan (Empire), Grant Cassidy Managing Director Empire Apartment Hotel, Zac Garven Business Manager Empire Apartment Hotel, Alyssa Tate and Sam Herde (Empire)
Photo by Profile Photographics P/L
Three entries from our Capricorn Region received three Awards at this year’s 2015 Queensland Tourism Awards proudly sponsored by the Queensland Airports Corporation (QAC) and hosted by Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC), our state industry organisation.
That’s 100% success rate against extremely strong competition in thirty (30) categories and some one hundred and fifty (150) entrants from across the state from Cape York to Coolangatta.
- Empire Apartment Hotel in Rockhampton took out the GOLD Award for New Tourism Business.
- Beef Australia 2015 took out the BRONZE Award for Major Festivals and Events.
- Southern Great Barrier Reef Project 2020 campaign submitted by Capricorn Enterprise, on behalf of our SGBR partners, took out the BRONZE Award in the Richard Power Award for Destination Marketing.
Entering the Awards is a highly competitive process and specific to the category, entrants must demonstrate exceptional business, operational , service, marketing and management equating into successful growth.
Not all categories award a Gold, Silver and Bronze Award – that is entirely up to the Judges discretion, with at least six categories this year not awarded with a Bronze and in some cases a Silver Award.
An award winning entry takes forty solid plus hours to prepare, demonstrating business systems, marketing strategies and service standards of the highest order, with judges visiting on-site, those applicable businesses.
Empire Apartment Hotel received a rigorous on-site assessment as well as the written submission.
The Awards process is not just about winning; it is about improving every part of your operation to ultimately increase visitors and improve your business.
Last year, Capricorn Caves was the only entrant from our Capricorn Region and took out the GOLD Award in Major Tourist Attractions and then went on to win the GOLD Award in the National Tourism Awards. That was an exceptional achievement!
Empire Apartment Hotel will now go on to compete in the National Tourism Awards and we wish Grant Cassidy and his team all the very best in bringing home their own National Tourism Award. This exceptional property and how it is managed and marketed in partnership with their Regional Tourist Organisation and others has set a new benchmark within our destination, from which other accommodation operators should aspire.
Capricorn Enterprise provides complimentary mentoring for our Members utilising specific skills of external business coaches in a number of programs throughout the year. One of those programs is Tourism Award submission writing and I encourage our operators to contact me regarding this training.
From Tourism Restaurants to Caravan and Holiday Parks, from a variety of Accommodation categories to Tour and Transport Operators, from Cultural and Aboriginal Tourism to Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism, there are a number of exceptional businesses here on the Capricorn Coast and our greater region which should be entering the Queensland Tourism Awards to highlight not only their business but our destination.
The process is challenging, but highly rewarding. Let’s put the spotlight on more Award winners in 2016!
Until next time…..
Mary Carroll
CEO Capricorn Enterprise
