Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

  My electorate must surely be the tourism capital of Queensland. We proved it at the Queensland Tourism Awards earlier this month, when businesses from Leichhardt took out nearly one-in-six of the 80-plus awards on the night. Particular congratulations go to the Cairns Central YHA and Cairns Convention Centre. They both won gold awards for the third year in a row and were inducted into the Queensland Tourism Awards Hall of Fame. Gold also went to the teams at the Daintree Discovery Centre at Cow Bay for best tourist attraction; Reef Magic Cruises in Cairns for best major tour and transport operator; Ocean Safari at Cape Tribulation for best tour and transport operator; Seawalker at Green Island for best adventure tourism; Cape Tribulation Beach House resort for best standard accommodation; and Tjapukai Indigenous Experience in Cairns for best Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism. Silver awards were presented to Cairns Amateurs Carnival, which is held every September; Mossman Gorge Centre; Ochre Restaurant and Catering in Cairns; Cairns Coconut Holiday Resort; and Pullman Hotel Reef Casino in Cairns. Meanwhile, the Kuranda Scenic Rail—a historic steam train that winds its way through the rainforest from Cairns to Kuranda—took home a bronze award.

Winning these awards is an outstanding effort and shows that these businesses continue to punch well above their weight in Queensland's $23-billion tourism industry. With the 2015 parliamentary year ending shortly, now is the perfect time for our colleagues to think about coming to Far North Queensland to see for themselves why we are truly a holiday mecca. (Time expired)

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