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Tropical North Queensland on Friday, October 20 celebrated excellence and innovation by acknowledging the people and businesses at the forefront of tourism in the region.
About 180 people gathered for the TNQ Tourism Industry Excellence Awards at the Shangri-La Hotel, The Marina, Cairns. Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chair Max Shepherd said it took a lot of individual and team effort to deliver the region’s great experiences and guide the industry to achieve its current success.
“We congratulate the high achievers who have not only contributed to the businesses they represent, but also brought enormous benefits to Tropical North Queensland,” he said.
Chairman’s Award for Excellence – Cairns Airport Pty Ltd
Sponsored by Cairns Regional Council
Cairns Airport was the platform for growth of the Tropical North Queensland tourism industry in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and continues to be the platform the destination depends upon for future growth. A key player in the region’s economic development, Cairns Airport Pty Ltd is a valued partner in marketing Tropical North Queensland to the world.
Outstanding Contribution by an Individual – Bram Collins
Sponsored by Cairns Airport Pty Ltd
Undara Experience Managing Director Bram Collins stands out for his commitment to the development of quality guiding across northern Australia through Savannah Guides. He has served on tourism committees and boards, including TTNQ, Tropical Tablelands Tourism, Savannah Guides and Etheridge Shire Tourism Action Group. Pairing with tourism industry identity Trevor Tim, he jointly established ‘Success with Attitude’, and shared his life and tourism industry skills with young Australians in remote areas through their project aimed at reducing youth suicide.
Life Members – Ron Livingston and Bill Cummings
Sponsored by TAFE Queensland North
Ron Livingston has been an ambassador of Tropical North Queensland in the marketplace for more than 26 years as Director of Sales and Marketing at Great Adventures and Sunlover Cruises and through his own marketing and representation companies.
Ron served on the ATEC board for seven years representing the interests of this region, served twice on the TTNQ board, and was acknowledged with the ATEC award for outstanding contribution by an individual in 2012. Tourism pioneer Bill Cummings’ first experience in tourism included establishing possibly the first volunteer visitor information centre in Far North Queensland in a caravan on the highway at Ingham. He later managed the Far North Queensland Development Bureau and its tourism offshoot in Cairns, which later became TTNQ. In 1981, Bill established his own economics business, from which he continued to provide strong input into tourism development and marketing, including freely providing his knowledge and time for a long line of TTNQ CEOs and Chairs.
Award for Innovation Excellence in TNQ – AJ Hackett Cairns
Sponsored by Cairns Regional Council
AJ Hackett has implemented a world first in photo and video technology to capture adventure activities that can be delivered to the customer in just 58 seconds. The high definition video is edited with six different camera angles, slow motion and real time footage, set to music and immediately sent to the customer’s inbox ready for them to post on social media.
Young Achiever Excellence Award – Phil Warring of PhlipVids and William Enoch-Tranby of the CaPTA Group
Sponsored by Host Plus Hospitality Super Fund
Phil Warring has a strong record as a young entrepreneur in tourism since 2004, playing a key role in the founding of online booking system, tourstogo.com. In 2014 Phil left tourstogo.com to start the video production business, PhlipVids, focusing on the production and distribution of online content and assisting businesses to develop their own content. Since then, he and his partner Alana Gregory have developed #RadTimesTogether, a social community, and Epic Times, a social media management company. Phil shares his knowledge and expertise as a facilitator and mentor for the TNQ Tourism Small Business Development Program. William Enoch-Tranby provides leadership through his role as CaPTA’s Cultural Development Officer and as a member of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council’s Indigenous Employee Network. He is the first Indigenous person to be selected as a Queensland Young Tourism Leader and took on a key role on the TTNQ Indigenous Tourism Positioning Advisory Group, contributing to the strategic development of TTNQ’s Indigenous brand positioning, ‘Timeless Experiences’. William has been involved in several mentoring and engagement programs for indigenous youth.
Photo caption: TTNQ Chair Max Shepherd (left) and Cairns Mayor Bob Manning (right) present Cairns Airport CEO Norris Carter with the Chairman’s Award for Excellence.
Tatiana is the news co-ordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy. She holds a Bachelor degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
