Festival going for gold
Millmerran favourite challenging top tourism operators
LOOKING to take out its first gong, the Australian Camp Oven Festival is pitting itself against Queensland’s top tourism operators for a win in this year’s Queensland Tourism Awards.
With more than 200 entrants state-wide across 28 categories, southern Queensland operators like the Australian Camp Oven Festival are on the hunt for gold at the awards, which will be held at Novotel Twin Waters on November 8.
Australian Camp Oven Festival event coordinator Katrina Grundon said while the festival had entered the awards previously, she felt that this year the event had evolved to a point where it was worthy of a winning place.
“Our event is truly like no other in Australia,” Ms Grundon said.
“From our committee to our volunteers and local commerce industry, we all band together to showcase our region and the authentic Australian traditions of the past.
“And you can’t get more Aussie than a campsite, camp oven cooking, a spot of damper throwing and a bit of bush poetry.
“For our tiny township of 1200 people in Millmerran, to welcome over 9100 visitors to our festival is no mean feat and demonstrates how important this event is to our local economy and the regional tourism sector.”
Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said the 35th Queensland Tourism Awards had attracted an outstanding array of Queensland’s tourism operators, with more than 200 entries received state-wide.
“This year’s entrants across 28 business, event and individual categories reflect the diverse and dynamic range of tourism operators helping Queensland’s tourism industry flourish,” Mr Gschwind said.