Goldrush for outstanding Coffs Harbour tourism operators
Published on 02 August 2024
City of Coffs Harbour businesses have scooped the pool at the 2024 North Coast Tourism Awards – walking away with a pot of gold.
In an effort to rival the heroics of the Australian swim team at the Paris Olympics, seven Coffs ventures medalled at the awards ceremony in Port Macquarie last night.
“What a fantastic acknowledgement for the people making waves in tourism. With 13 finalists, we had more than any other local government area on the North Coast,” City of Coffs Harbour Mayor Paul Amos said.
The awards’ honour roll included:
• Tiga Cross (Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary) - Gold, Outstanding Young Tourism Business Leader
• Coffs Harbour Trike & Private Tours - Gold, Tour and Transport Operator of the Year
• The Big Banana Fun Park - Gold, Tourism Attraction of the Year
• Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary - Silver, Tourism Attraction of the Year
• Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Experience - Silver, Excellence in Cultural Tourism
• Pacific Bay Resort - Bronze, Event Venue of the Year; and
• Shearwater Restaurant - Bronze, Excellence in Food Tourism.
The City’s stunning Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM) was among the finalists.
Other Coffs Coast finalists were:
• Coffs Coast Tickets by Paradox Media
• Gumbaynggirr ECO immersive stand up paddle tours
• Lindsay Russell – Broken Open Productions
• Yarrawarra Aboriginal Cultural Centre
The success of YAM is writ large in the numbers of people who have come through the doors of the facility on the ground floor of Yarrila Place.
Visitation for 2023/24 (and YAM opened only in September) stood at 48,534. The first paid exhibition at YAM – Sea Monsters: Prehistoric ocean predators – saw more than 7000 tickets sold.
“The awards night was a chance to celebrate all of those making an outstanding statement on the tourism front,” Mayor Amos said.
Photo: Brent and Belinda Watson from Coffs Harbour Trike & Private Tours.