Dreamworld takes out top award, Outback Spectacular honoured

The annual Queensland Tourism Awards took place on Friday night with Gold Coast theme park operators Macquarie Leisure Trust Group and Warner Village Theme Parks taking out some of the coveted state tourism industry awards, with special tribute paid to Steve Irwin.

Dreamworld once again took the crown for Major Tourist Attraction, narrowly beating out Sunshine Coast's Australia Zoo for the award. As the night of nights for the Queensland tourism industry, Australia's most popular theme park has been given the seal of approval with induction into the Hall of Fame also in the Major Tourist Attraction category, a prestigious award only given to businesses which have won their category for three consecutive years. Dreamworld was inducted into the Hall of Fame last year in the Tourism Product Marketing category.

Dreamworld will sit out the Major Tourist Attraction award for the next two years as part of their induction into the Hall of Fame. This will give Australia Zoo and other major operators around Australia the chance to vie for the award. Australia Zoo won the award in 2002 and 2003, with the Gold Coast's Sea World theme park often a contender for the award.

Recently thrust into the spotlight following the tragic death of owner Steve Irwin, the Sunshine Coast zoo was honoured with a special award to celebrate Steve Irwin's Outstanding Contribution to Tourism, presenting the trophy and framed certificate to Terri Irwin.

"The organisers of tonight’s event – Tourism Queensland and the Queensland Tourism Industry Council – had always planned to present this award to Steve and, like the rest of the world, were shocked and saddened by his tragic death in early September.

"We decided to go ahead with the presentation so that the Irwin family and the Australia Zoo family would be aware how appreciated and valued Steve’s contribution was to his home state’s tourism industry."

Accepting the award, Terri said:

"I am extremely grateful to Tourism Queensland and to the Queensland Tourism Industry Council for their recognition of the tremendous enthusiasm and effort that Steve put into spreading the word around the globe about this great country and this fantastic state of Queensland.

"I can assure you that Steve's work will be carried on with more determination than ever by the Irwin family and all at Australia Zoo to make sure the world continues to hear his message about this paradise he called home.

Dreamworld's major rival Warner Village Theme Parks, the other three-fifths of the Gold Coast's growing theme park experience, was not without award. The operators of Sea World, Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet'n'Wild Water World were honoured with an award for Tourism Development for the Australian Outback Spectacular, an interactive dinner show which highlights the spirit of the Outback. Since opening in April, the attraction has been operating at 95% capacity.

The winners of this year's Queensland awards now go into the running for the Australian Tourism Awards.