Sovereign Hill the top attraction, Harvey Lister named industry legend at Australian Tourism Awards

Ballarat open-air museum Sovereign Hill has again been named Australia's top Major Tourist Attraction at the Australian Tourism Awards with AEG Ogden Chairman and Chief Executive Harvey Lister receiving the Australian Tourism Legend award.

Presented yesterday evening at the Darwin Convention Centre, the Qantas-sponsored Awards event attracted tourism industry leaders from across Australia.

Sovereign Hill’s award as top major tourist attraction saw it retain that status, a remarkable achievement for the heritage orientated attraction.

Lister’s ‘Tourism Legend’ award acknowledged the importance of conventions, events and entertainment to tourism, with AEG Ogden managed venues having delivered more than 30,000 major events over the past 30 years.

Australian Tourism Awards 
Qantas Australian Tourism Awards Australian Tourism Legend: Harvey Lister

Major Tourist Attractions    
Gold: Sovereign Hill, Victoria
Silver: Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory
Bronze: Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service - Freycinet National Park

Tourist Attractions
Gold: Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre, ACT
Silver: Bruny Island Cruises, Tasmania
Bronze: Calypso Star Charters, South Australia

Major Festivals and Events
Gold: Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, Queensland 
Silver: Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Victoria 
Bronze: Mandurah Crab Festival, Western Australia

Festivals and Events
Gold: Mount Isa Mines Rotary Rodeo, Queensland 
Silver: National Folk Festival, ACT
Bronze: Parkes Elvis Festival, NSW

Ecotourism
Gold: Tasmanian Walking Company, Tasmania
Silver: Sail Ningaloo - Overnight Sailing Tours, Western Australia
Bronze: Fun Over Fifty, Queensland 

Cultural Tourism
Gold: Bendigo Tramways, Victoria 
Silver: Nundle Woollen Mill, NSW
Bronze: Venture North Australia, Northern Territory

Qantas Award for Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Tourism
Gold/Hall of Fame: Voyages Ayers Rock Resort/Hall of Fame, Northern Territory
Silver: Sand Dune Adventures, NSW
Bronze: Mossman Gorge Centre, Queensland 

Specialised Tourism Services
Gold: RiverFly 64, Tasmania
Silver: Canberra Airport, ACT
Bronze: SkyBus, Victoria 

Visitor Information Services
Gold: Alice Springs Visitor Information Centre, Northern Territory
Silver: Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association, Western Australia
Bronze: Hervey Bay Visitor Information Centre, Queensland 

Business Events Venue
Gold/Hall of Fame: The Old Woolstore Apartment Hotel, Tasmania
Silver: Darwin Convention Centre, Northern Territory
Bronze: Château Élan at The Vintage, NSW

Major Tour and Transport Operators
Gold: Ocean Rafting, Queensland 
Silver: Par Avion Wilderness Tours, Tasmania
Bronze: ADAMS, Western Australia

Tour and Transport Operators
Gold: Fun Over Fifty, Queensland 
Silver: Top Drop Tours, Western Australia
Bronze: Uluru Camel Tours, Northern Territory

Adventure Tourism
Gold: Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures, Western Australia
Silver: Tangatours, Queensland 
Bronze: Uluru Camel Tours, Northern Territory

Destination Marketing
Gold: Reset your senses in Mudgee Region,NSW
Silver: Great Eastern Drive, Tasmania
Bronze: Bendigo Art Gallery & Twentieth Century Fox present Marilyn Monroe, Victoria 

Tourism Restaurants and Catering Services
Gold: Masons of Bendigo, Victoria
Silver: Josef Chromy Wines, Tasmania
Bronze: Sandalford Wines, Western Australia

Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries
Gold: Seppeltsfield Estate Winery, South Australia
Silver: Sarina Sugar Shed, Queensland 
Bronze: Pizzini Wines, Victoria
 
Caravan and Holiday Parks
Gold: BIG4 Deniliquin Holiday Park, NSW
Silver: BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, Queensland 
Bronze: BIG4 Beacon Resort, Victoria 

Hosted Accommodation
Gold: The Beach House at Bayside, Western Australia
Silver: Cobbold Village, Queensland 
Bronze: Curringa Farm Accommodation, Tasmania

Unique Accommodation
Gold: Taronga Western Plains Zoo, NSW
Silver: Pumphouse Point, Tasmania
Bronze: Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures – The Horizontal Hotel, Western Australia

Self Contained Accommodation
Gold: The Frames Gold, South Australia
Silver: Avalon Coastal Retreat, Tasmania
Bronze: Lakeside Villas at Crittenden Estate, Victoria 

Standard Accommodation
Gold: Moama on Murray Resort, NSW
Silver: Ibis Mackay, Queensland 
Bronze ibis Adelaide, South Australia

Deluxe Accommodation
Gold: Yondah Beach House, South Australia
Silver: The Old Woolstore Apartment Hotel, Tasmania
Bronze: The Observatory, Port Macquarie, NSW

Luxury Accommodation
Gold: Saffire Freycinet, Tasmania
Silver: The Playford, South Australia
Bronze: Drift House, Victoria 

New Tourism Business
Gold: Three Capes Track, Tasmania
Silver: COMO The Treasury, Western Australia
Bronze: The Wellness Manor, Victoria 

Excellence in Food
Gold: Tourism Margan Wines & Restaurant, NSW
Silver: Green Olive at Red Hill, Victoria 
Bronze: Tourism Barossa Valley Cheese Company, South Australia

The awards draw together more than 800 tourism business representatives from across the country along with Federal and State Tourism Ministers, executives of State and Regional tourism bodies and tourism industry leaders. 

Images (from top): Sovereign Hill, Ballarat; Harvey Lister; BIG4 Deniliquin Holiday Park; Savannah Lodge at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, NSW  and Three Capes Track, Tasmania.