FOUR Coffs Coast four businesses took home prizes at the 2022 NSW Tourism Awards announced on Thursday, 17 November at Luna Park Sydney.

Six businesses were nominated for awards across six different categories at the prestigious NSW Tourism Awards.

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Riverside Holiday Resort in Urunga was the Gold winner of the 2022 NSW Tourism Awards for Excellence in Accessible Tourism and received an induction to the Hall of Fame Award.

Rebecca Beaton from Riverside Holiday Resort told NOTA, “Entering the Hall of Fame in the Excellence in Accessible Tourism category is our greatest achievement.

“Ours is a not-for-profit organisation and our mission is to provide value to our guests and local communities and create an inclusive environment where everyone can enjoy life and create memories regardless of their abilities.

“I am so proud of our amazing team who go over and above every day to cater to each of our guests’ individual needs.”

Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours was the Gold winner of the 2022 NSW Tourism Awards for Excellence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Tourism Experience.

Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours is a 100 percent Aboriginal-owned business on the Coffs Harbour Coast offering 2.5 hour cultural stand-up paddle tours.

With a social purpose of supporting the local Aboriginal community, they are driven to offer a quality authentic product to their guests and to the wider tourism industry.

Their tours take the guests on a journey through Gumbaynggirr culture, highlighting traditional stories, bush tucker and language.

The Coffs Coast Food & Wine Festival won the Bronze Prize in the Festivals and Events category, an outstanding achievement for a first-year event competing amongst long-standing festivals with decades of history such as Gold Prize winner Tumbafest.

With a team of two people, Lindsay Russell and Dave Mansfield, the Coffs Coast’s newest event organiser, Broken Open Productions & Amplify Events, produced seventeen events over two days in June 2022.

Their festival still has one more event to go which was postponed due to extreme weather conditions, meaning The Coffs Coast Food & Wine Festival’s Summer Sesh at Jetty Beach House now takes place on 26 and 27 November.

Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation (BMNAC) – translating to ‘two path strong’ – won the Bronze Prize in the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Tourism category.

BMNAC’s Giingan Gumbaynggirr Cultural Tours are designed to ensure that Aboriginal youth are strong in terms of both cultural identity and educational success.

The BMNAC experiences are created to build knowledge of Gumbaynggirr heritage and for the young people to be proud of who they are as Aboriginal people.

Forestry Corporation, based in Coffs Harbour, was the recipient of a Ground Swell Award for their sustainability and conservation efforts with Take 3 for the Sea’s Ground Swell Campaign.

The Big Banana Fun Park and The Observatory Holiday Apartments were also nominated for awards.

By Andrea FERRARI