MidCoast Council’s tourism brand Barrington Coast has won two gold awards at the prestigious 2022 NSW Tourism Awards in Sydney, with local tourism businesses also among winners and finalists.
The Awards celebrate outstanding resilience, innovation and creativity in what has been a challenging few years for the industry.
Barrington Coast won gold in the Local Government Award for Tourism category, which recognises excellence in tourism planning, tourism facilities and services, marketing, event development and the overall contribution made both locally and to the NSW tourism industry.
The second gold, awarded to Barrington Coast in the Tourism Marketing and Campaigns category, recognises creativity and innovation in the promotion of tourism products, services or destinations.
“I’m thrilled we have won these awards for the second year running,” said MidCoast Council Mayor, Claire Pontin. “I congratulate our destination management team on their persistence, passion and teamwork.”
Council’s Destination Management Coordinator, Sharon Bultitude, praised the contributions of key consultants Destination Marketing Store, Leonards Advertising and Fred and Co.
“We’d like to congratulate all the finalists who were able to navigate lockdowns and restricted travel to continue to attract domestic visitors and build new visitor experiences,” she said.
Destination Barrington Coast was joined by other local tourism businesses as winners and finalists in the 2022 awards. Sea Horse Diamond Beach won bronze for Excellence in Accessible Accommodation, and was a finalist in Self-contained Accommodation. Donna Carrier from Bent on Food, Wingham won the Dean Gorddard Award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism by an Individual, while Bent On Food won silver for Excellence in Food Tourism. Aussie Ark in Barrington Tops won bronze in Tourist Attractions.
These successful businesses are already multi-award winners in NSW Tourism Awards plus other national awards including Australian Small Business Awards and Australian Regional Business Awards. Last week Sea Horse Diamond Beach won Bronze at the international Stevie Awards in Las Vegas for Social Change Maker of the Year in Disability.
The NSW Tourism Awards are presented by Business NSW in partnership with the NSW Government and Destination NSW. The awards were held at Sydney’s Luna Park on Thursday 17 November. This was the first time in two years that a non-virtual award ceremony was held, showcasing the State’s most outstanding tourism operators.
As the NSW winner for the Tourism Marketing and Campaigns Award, MidCoast Council will now go on to the national awards in March next year.
“These fantastic results provide a strong base from which to move forward and support the sustainable growth of the local tourism industry for years to come,” said Mayor Pontin.
“It’s wonderful to see both our Destination brand and local tourism businesses so well represented at this year’s awards. Congratulations to all winners and finalists.”
