City of Coffs Harbour businesses have scooped the pool at the 2024 North Coast Tourism Awards, with seven Coffs ventures medalled at the awards ceremony in Port Macquarie.
“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,” said City of Coffs Harbour Mayor, Paul Amos.
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 new Yarrila Arts and Museum (YAM), which opened in September last year, was among the finalists. Mayor Amos said 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 (since its September 2023 opening) stood at 48,534. The first paid exhibition at YAM – Sea Monsters: Prehistoric ocean predators – saw more than 7,000 tickets sold.
“The awards night was a chance to celebrate all of those making an outstanding statement on the tourism front,” Mayor Amos said.
