❓ Mr. Jacob asks the Minister for Tourism to update the house on Rottnest Island Authority's achievements at the 2012 Perth Airport Western Australian Tourism Awards. The Minister responds by highlighting Rottnest Island's multiple award wins and the government's support for tourism in the state.
AnsweredQoN 696Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
TOURISM
AWARDS
696. Mr A.P. JACOB to the Minister for Tourism:
I understand that the 2012 Perth Airport Western Australian
Tourism Awards were held last Saturday night and that the Rottnest Island
Authority was a multi-award winner. Can the minister please update the house on
this impressive achievement?
AWARDS
696. Mr A.P. JACOB to the Minister for Tourism:
I understand that the 2012 Perth Airport Western Australian
Tourism Awards were held last Saturday night and that the Rottnest Island
Authority was a multi-award winner. Can the minister please update the house on
this impressive achievement?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question. Before I start, on
behalf of the member for South Perth, I wish to recognise people from the South
Perth Learning Centre who are in the public gallery: hello and welcome to
Parliament.
It was a good night on Saturday. It was a long night; we
started at five and finished at about half past 12. About 800 people were
there, including a huge number of people involved in the tourism industry who
are really the cream of those who are tourism operators, who have all put in to
seek awards through tourism. Mr Speaker, you will be very proud that one from
your own electorate, Skydive Jurien Bay, was one of the winners—a
fantastic result. However, I want to boast a bit about Rottnest Island.
As members know, I have responsibility for Rottnest Island.
Everybody has an opinion on Rottnest Island and what I should do to improve the
way it is managed. Rottnest Island was the winner of three major awards on
Saturday night. First, it was the winner of the Major Tourist Attractions
Award; second, it was the winner of the Tourism Marketing category; and then it
went on to win the big one of the night, namely—the Qantas Award for
Excellence in Sustainable Tourism. Therefore, the big award of the night was
won by Rottnest Island. It was also awarded a bronze medal in the Heritage and
Cultural Tourism category. Ferry operator Rottnest Express won the Major Tour
and/or Transport Operators category. Dome Cafe Rottnest just missed out on an
award, but it was a finalist in a very competitive field. The people who run
the Rottnest Island Authority and all the people who work there, especially all
the volunteers who assist on Rottnest Island, need to be congratulated for the
fabulous effort that they put in in making Rottnest what it is today. There are
people who would like Rottnest to stay as it always has been, a bit like,
perhaps, how we would have liked Mandurah to have stayed as it has always been—a
little quiet sleepy village. But the reality is that things move on and tourism
has to move on. We have to be innovative in the ideas that we put forward and
in the way we manage things to make sure that we continue to attract tourists
to different parts of our state. We have a lot of international competition and
a lot of people choose to go overseas for their holidays. If we want to retain
them at places such as Rottnest Island, we have to continue to be innovative.
Winning awards such as these show that Rottnest is being innovative. With the
government supporting some of the fabulous things that we have just had
recently, such as Margaret River Gourmet Escape, the changes to the Hopman Cup,
the BHP Billiton swimming classic and the World Championship Tour surfing event
at Margaret River, I think this government shows that it is a strong supporter
of tourism in this state, and we will continue to press ahead.
behalf of the member for South Perth, I wish to recognise people from the South
Perth Learning Centre who are in the public gallery: hello and welcome to
Parliament.
It was a good night on Saturday. It was a long night; we
started at five and finished at about half past 12. About 800 people were
there, including a huge number of people involved in the tourism industry who
are really the cream of those who are tourism operators, who have all put in to
seek awards through tourism. Mr Speaker, you will be very proud that one from
your own electorate, Skydive Jurien Bay, was one of the winners—a
fantastic result. However, I want to boast a bit about Rottnest Island.
As members know, I have responsibility for Rottnest Island.
Everybody has an opinion on Rottnest Island and what I should do to improve the
way it is managed. Rottnest Island was the winner of three major awards on
Saturday night. First, it was the winner of the Major Tourist Attractions
Award; second, it was the winner of the Tourism Marketing category; and then it
went on to win the big one of the night, namely—the Qantas Award for
Excellence in Sustainable Tourism. Therefore, the big award of the night was
won by Rottnest Island. It was also awarded a bronze medal in the Heritage and
Cultural Tourism category. Ferry operator Rottnest Express won the Major Tour
and/or Transport Operators category. Dome Cafe Rottnest just missed out on an
award, but it was a finalist in a very competitive field. The people who run
the Rottnest Island Authority and all the people who work there, especially all
the volunteers who assist on Rottnest Island, need to be congratulated for the
fabulous effort that they put in in making Rottnest what it is today. There are
people who would like Rottnest to stay as it always has been, a bit like,
perhaps, how we would have liked Mandurah to have stayed as it has always been—a
little quiet sleepy village. But the reality is that things move on and tourism
has to move on. We have to be innovative in the ideas that we put forward and
in the way we manage things to make sure that we continue to attract tourists
to different parts of our state. We have a lot of international competition and
a lot of people choose to go overseas for their holidays. If we want to retain
them at places such as Rottnest Island, we have to continue to be innovative.
Winning awards such as these show that Rottnest is being innovative. With the
government supporting some of the fabulous things that we have just had
recently, such as Margaret River Gourmet Escape, the changes to the Hopman Cup,
the BHP Billiton swimming classic and the World Championship Tour surfing event
at Margaret River, I think this government shows that it is a strong supporter
of tourism in this state, and we will continue to press ahead.
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