Red Cat Adventures announces acquisition of Whitsunday Jetski Tours

Red Cat Adventures has announced that it is acquiring fellow Queensland marine tourism company Whitsunday Jetski Tours.

At each of these Whitsunday businesses, locally owned and operated by Asher and Julie Telford and Steve and Toni Ward respectively, it will be ‘business as usual’ for consumers and staff, with both brands continuing to offer their award-winning tours.

For the Wards, this was an important factor in handing over the business that they created 12 years ago,

Toni Ward explained “Whitsunday Jetski Tours has been a part of our family and the Whitsunday community for over a decade, so we knew that when the time came to let it go, it would need to be taken on by people we could trust to maintain the team spirit, ethos and high service levels we’ve worked so hard to achieve.

Steve Ward also noted “the fact that they’re both iconic, nationally acclaimed Whitsunday businesses is also significant.

“Over the course of our tenure, Whitsunday Jetski Tours has had the honour of being named Trip Advisor’s number one rated experience in Australia and a 2022 Traveller’s Choice award winner - and here we are handing over to Australia’s top adventure tourism operator, also twice inducted into Queensland Tourism’s Hall of Fame.”

Explaining that the opportunity to take on another unique, securely established, premium tourism product was too good to overlook, Asher Telford noted “for a long time now, we have felt that the offering provided by Whitsunday Jetski Tours would complement our existing experiences perfectly.

“Both brands are bold, resilient, and renowned for their integrity, so it is an honour to be adding Whitsunday Jetski Tours to our Red Cat Adventures suite.”

Red Cat Adventures operates the purpose-built vessel ‘Thundercat’ and sailing vessel Tongarra, as well as running mainland ‘Falls to Paradise’ combined waterfall and resort tours, and ‘Wild Cat’ tours to Great Barrier Reef islands off Mackay.

The company also runs school-based Coxswain’s courses and a variety of Eco and Edu-tourism-tailored tours, including the curriculum-based ‘Immersive Learning Project’, designed to foster ‘travel for good’ and broaden stewardship of the Great Barrier Reef.

With the tag-line ‘your ride, your adventure’, Whitsunday Jetski Tours offers the daily 1.5-hour Airlie Adventure Tour, two-hour Two Island Safari and four-hour Ultimate Trek, visiting Long Island’s Palm Bay. 

Welcoming the change, Tourism Whitsundays Chief Executive, Rick Hamilton added “Asher and Julie’s confidence in the Whitsunday tourism market is inspiring and a sign of the region’s meteoric rise from the depths of the pandemic to the thriving environment we find ourselves in now.

“This announcement means there’s now an even better way to adventure with Australia’s best.”

Images courtesy of Red Cat Adventures/Whitsunday Jetski Tours.