Individual award winners and 2024 host city announced at WA Regional Tourism Conference

Recognised for their outstanding contribution to the tourism industry, four individuals secured awards at last night’s WA Regional Tourism Conference dinner held in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. WA Tourism Conference organisers also announced the 2024 event will be held in Mandurah, on the southwest coast of Western Australia

The FACET Golden Guide Award winner was announced as Rosanna Angus from Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours. In a hotly contested field of entrants, Angus’s application was a remarkable stand out and she was commended by judges as embodying the key traits the Award celebrates.

The Individual Excellence in Aboriginal Tourism Award was awarded to Walter McGuire from Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours and Experiences. The judges described McGuire as a passionate and driven ambassador for cultural tourism in WA, who also supports up and coming businesses in the industry.

Katrina Green from SeaLink WA won the Individual Excellence in Customer Service Award, and was recognised not only for her outstanding customer service skills, but mentoring and leadership of others within her team.  

The Sir David Brand Young Achiever Medal was awarded to Zac Duggan from Peddle Perth in recognition of his significant achievements, innovation and vision for tourism.

Tourism Council WA Chief Executive Evan Hall shared “The Western Australian tourism industry is made possible thanks to the passionate people who tirelessly work towards showcasing WA to visitors.

“The individual awards provided an opportunity for four of these people to be recognised for their commitment to creating innovative and friendly experiences to Western Australia’s visitors.

WA Tourism Conference organisers also last night announced that the 2024 event will be held in Mandurah, on the southwest coast of Western Australia.

Hall said the conference partners were looking forward to bringing the 2024 WA Tourism Conference to a destination with a high level of commitment to constantly improving its local tourism offering and appeal to visitors.  

Hall noted “The 2023 WA Regional Tourism Conference is expected to attract more than 300 delegates from across Western Australia, with estimated expenditure in the destination of more than $250,000.

“We’re looking forward to showcasing the City of Mandurah and the surrounding region to tourism businesses and industry delegates from across Western Australia, who will then promote the destination to potential visitors.”

City of Mandurah Mayor Rhys Williams said Mandurah was the perfect place to host the regional conference in 2024 and added “Mandurah has real momentum with the hugely successful Giants of Mandurah exhibition, an exciting year-round events program, Top Tourism Town titles, significant private investment and recent redevelopment of our foreshores and Smart Street Mall and we’re looking forward to sharing all this with the wider tourism community.

“This significant conference is also an opportunity to recognise and reward the tourism industry of Mandurah and give something back to these people who tirelessly continue to deliver the very best representation and experience Mandurah has to offer.”

The WA Tourism Conference was introduced in 2015 as an industry-wide event and is now co-hosted by a number of industry associations including Tourism Council WA, Visitor Centres WA, Caravan Industry Association WA, Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC) and the Forum Advocating Cultural and Eco Tourism (FACET).

The individual award finalists in each category were:

FACET Golden Guide Award Finalists

• Rosanna Angus, Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours

• Matthew Baldock, GoGo Active Tours

• Graeme Dearle, Pemberton Discovery Tours

• Sebastian Jones, Salt and Bush Eco Tours

• Walter McGuire, Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours

• Rupert Phillips, The House of Honey

• Randall Smith, Cape to Cape Explorer Tours

Individual Excellence in Aboriginal Tourism Finalists

• Rosanna Angus, Oolin Sunday Island Cultural Tours

• Walter McGuire, Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours

• Dale Tilbrook, Dale Tilbrook Experiences

Individual Excellence in Customer Service Finalists

• Nic Chirico, SurfPoint Resort

• Tyler Davie, Mackerel Islands

• Tash Faithfull, Aviair

• Nik Gassner, Sin Gin Distillery

• Julie Gaze, Peddle Perth

• Sharon Graham, Integrity Coachlines

• Katrina Green, SeaLink WA

• Vivienne McEvoy, Kununurra Visitor Centre

Sir David Brand Young Achiever Medal

• Tess Crake, Sin Gin Distillery

• Zac Duggan, Peddle Perth

• Jessica Roe, Crown Perth

Image. Mandurah