The National Museum of Australia has won the Canberra Region tourism industry Major Festivals and Events award for their exhibition Rome: City and Empire, held on Friday 29^th  November, to celebrate the success of tourism businesses and operators in the Canberra region.

Presented by the National Capital Attractions Association and supported by VisitCanberra, the Canberra Region Tourism Awards is the most prestigious event on the Canberra Region’s tourism calendar. It provides the opportunity to publicly recognise and showcase excellence in tourism from the Region.

Other major winners included the National Gallery of Australia being awarded Major Tourist Attraction and the National Aboretum Canberra which won Tourist Attractions.

Dr Naomi Dale, President of the National Capital Attractions Association advised “Our region is simply brimming with businesses and attractions that excel in their field in not only bringing visitors to Canberra, but giving them a premium visitor experience when they arrive.

“Canberra’s tourism services have proven themselves to be outstanding yet again. This year awards have been presented to the Canberra and Region Visitors Centre for Visitor Information Services, the National Convention Centre Canberra for Business Event Venues, and the National Capital Authority for Tourism Visitor Education.”

Dr Dale also acknowledged the contributions of Canberra’s surrounding region revealing that Destination Southern Highlands’ Pie Time campaign once again won the Destination Marketing category – making it three years in a row they have collected an award in this category.

“Our accommodation sector is also going from strength to strength here in Canberra with winners announced across four separate accommodation categories. Jamala Wildlife Lodge for Unique Accommodation, Leumeah Lodge for Standard Accommodation, Little National Hotel for Deluxe Accommodation, and the Luxury Accommodation category was won by Hyatt Hotel Canberra.

“Huge congratulations go to all of our entrants and winners who have excelled in their field. National category winners will now compete for recognition at the 2019 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards which will be held here in Canberra on 6th March 2020.”

Canberra Region Tourism Awards 2019 Full List of Winners:

Major Tourist Attractions – National Gallery of Australia

Tourist Attractions – National Aboretum Canberra

Major Festivals and Events – National Museum of Australia- Rome: City and Empire

Festivals and Events – Canberra Balloon Spectacular (Events ACT)

Cultural Tourism – Royal Australian Mint

Specialised Tourism Services – GetAboutAble

Visitor Information Services – Canberra and Region Visitors Centre

Business Event Venues –  National Convention Centre Canberra

Adventure Tourism – Dynamic Motivation/Stromlo Shuttle Bus

Destination Marketing – Destination Southern Highlands – ‘Pie Time’

Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries – Shaw Wines

Unique Accommodation – Jamala Wildlife Lodge

Standard Accommodation – Leumeah Lodge

Deluxe Accommodation – Little National Hotel

Luxury Accommodation – Hyatt Hotel Canberra

New Tourism Business – Book Canberra Excursions

Outstanding Contribution by an Individual – Brendan Nelson

Tourism Visitor Education – National Capital Authority

Markus Gibson-Huck Young Achiever Award – Michael Liu, Dionysus Movement

For more information on the awards go to www.canberratourismawards.com.au