Legislative Council Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2) 51 2 Parliament of South Australia Legislative Council published Matters of Interest MATTERS OF INTEREST Tourism Awards TOURISM AWARDS The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY Legislative Council The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (12:14): I rise today to speak about the recent South Australian Tourism Awards in which tourism operators in my duty electorate of Chaffey were among the many recognised for their efforts in the state's tourism industry. The South Australian Tourism Awards acknowledge the hard work and achievement of our state's tourism industry, the contribution that our tourism achievers make to strengthen the economy, create employment and set benchmarks to further improve tourism services and products. Entrants from the Riverland range from canoe tours to accommodation, visitor information and festivals. Among the entrants were seven local winners. The awards received by the Riverland tourism operators show the diverse range of products on offer for visitors to the Riverland. Special mention goes to the special category winners: Quality Houseboats was awarded with best unique accommodation; and the Recharge of the River Murray Campaign was awarded the best tourism marketing campaign. The Recharge of the River Murray Campaign is run by the Riverland Tourism Association in conjunction with Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism and Murraylands Tourism Marketing, and has been particularly successful in the Riverland. The Riverland Tourism Association has been acknowledged for a drought plan put together for all tourism operators to provide visitors with a consistent message about water levels in the River Murray and how to conserve water. The Loxton Christmas Lights Festival, the Berri Visitor Information Centre, Riverland Leisure Canoe Tours, the 'Discover the River Murray' website, and BIG4 Renmark Riverfront Holiday Park also received medals for the quality of their entries. These acknowledgements have reinforced the message that the region has a lot to offer holidaymakers. The awards offer a great opportunity for tourism businesses to continue to evolve and improve, and a tourism industry that continues to evolve will also contribute greatly to increasing visitor numbers to South Australia—a key aim of the State Strategic Plan. The South Australian tourism industry currently generates $4 billion in expenditure, with the aspiration of making the tourism industry a $6.3 billion industry by 2014. The tourism awards offer a platform to help achieve this goal. Major category winners Quality Houseboats and the 'Recharge on the Murray River' campaign will represent South Australia at the Australian tourism awards in February in Canberra, and I am sure that we all send our best wishes and hope they will do very well at these awards ceremonies.