11/02/12, 22:16:37 EST

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Coast in hunt for tourism honours

thedaily.com.au

A kite festival, jazz cruise, cooking school and one of the world¡¦s most famous zoos are among a diverse group of Sunshine Coast operators competing for Queensland¡¦s top tourism honours.

The minister for tourism, regional development and industry, Desley Boyle, said 17 Sunshine Coast enterprises were among more than 200 tourism operators entered in the Queensland Tourism Awards 2007, to be presented in Townsville on Saturday.

¡§The Queensland Tourism Awards 2007 is the most competitive ever, reflecting high standards of excellence in all sectors of Queensland¡¦s vibrant tourism industry,¡¨ Ms Boyle said.

¡§The Sunshine Coast has operators competing in 14 of 25 Queensland Tourism Awards categories, highlighting the wide range of tourism experiences, services and products on offer.

¡§As well as high-profile operators, attractions and accommodation providers, the Queensland Tourism Awards also celebrate the ƒsbehind-the-scenes achievements tourists might not notice.¡¨

Meanwhile, a strong Australian dollar has not dented the country¡¦s tourism industry, according to new figures.

Australian Bureau of Statistics arrival trends released yesterday showed overseas visitor numbers were up 3.7% for the first nine months of 2007, compared to the same period last year.

Tourism groups last week warned the high dollar could be a ¡§double whammy¡¨ ¡V making Australia more expensive for foreign tourists and encouraging more Australians to holiday overseas.

But yesterday¡¦s figures showed the trend had changed little.

Tourist numbers from China were up 14.9%, Germany 6.6% and New Zealand 6.1%.

 Printable Version  | published Nov 05, 2007