Queensland’s much-loved Groundwater Country Music Festival claimed top honours at the 2019 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards in Canberra on Friday night.
The 2018 Groundwater Country Music Festival (formerly Broadbeach Country Music Festival) took out gold in the Festivals and Events category at the Queensland Tourism Awards in November, automatically putting it in the running to win the national award.
Groundwater festival director and acting CEO Mark Duckworth said: “This award is symbolic of the Gold Coast thinking outside the box.
“I don’t think eight years ago anyone would have linked Broadbeach with country music, and now it’s a well-known annual pilgrimage for fans all over Australia.
“The team worked so hard to make this festival work and we couldn’t be happier.”
The Unconformity (Tasmania) won silver in the Festivals and Events category at the Australian Tourism Awards, and Grazing Down the Lachlan (NSW) won bronze.
The awards acknowledge and promote excellence in tourism each year across 25 categories ranging from cultural tourism to destination marketing. You can check out the rest of the 2019 winners here.
Sunshine Coast wins right to host 2020 awards
It was also revealed on Friday night that the next Australian Tourism Awards will be held on the Sunshine Coast in 2021.
Queensland’s Minister for Tourism Industry Development, Kate Jones, announced the win at the awards, saying that the Sunshine Coast was the “perfect place” to host the event.
“Sunshine Coast is a key growth market for tourism in Queensland. It’s an ideal spot for the Australian Tourism Awards in 2021,” she said.
“They did a great job at the new $8 million convention centre at the Novotel Sunshine Coast Resort last year. Next year will be bigger and better than ever.”
Next year’s award ceremony will be held in March 2021 at the Sunshine Coast Convention Centre, and is expected to attract more than 850 award finalists, tourism leaders and industry stakeholders from across the country.
Visit Sunshine Coast CEO Simon Latchford described the announcement as a major coup for the region.
“It’s a credit to the Sunshine Coast tourism industry as a whole and the collaborative efforts of the Queensland government, Tourism and Events Queensland, Sunshine Coast Council, the Queensland Tourism Industry Council, and Sunshine Coast Airport,” he said.
“Winning the tourism industry’s premier awards event is massive and will result in a significant injection of over 850 extra visitors to the region in an off-peak time – a very welcome boost for local operators.
The announcement follows the Sunshine Coast’s hosting of the Queensland Tourism Awards, Destination Q and Destination IQ – three of the leading tourism events in the state – at the Sunshine Coast Convention Centre in November 2019.
