Oakvale Wildlife Park has been recognised as the region's top tourist attraction in the first Destination Sydney Surrounds North Regional Tourism Awards.
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Park owners Leanne and Kent Sansom were on hand to collect their trophy after being announced as the gold award winner for the tourist attraction category at Noah's On the Beach in Newcastle on Monday.
"It is such an honour for Oakvale to be recognised by the industry with this award," the couple said.
"Our team works very hard every day to ensure the business continues to improve and to deliver above and beyond our customers' expectations.
"We look forward to celebrating with our staff this wonderful achievement."
Regional awards are being presented for the first time this year across all six Destination NSW zones to acknowledge excellence by individuals and organisations in the tourism sector operating within each area.
The Destination Sydney Surrounds North zone encompasses 13 local government areas - Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Cessnock, Dungog, Hawkesbury, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Penrith, Port Stephens, Singleton and Upper Hunter.
In 2017 this zone attracted $4.07 billion in tourism expenditure - a growth of 4.2 per cent average growth in the past 10 years.
Oakvale Wildlife Park, based at Salt Ash, was the only Port Stephens business to receive one of the 10 Destination Sydney Surrounds North Regional Tourism Awards up for grabs on Monday.
The full list of winners:
- Major Tourist Attractions - Gold: The Australian Reptile Park
- Tourist Attractions - Gold: Oakvale Wildlife Park
- Major Festivals and Events - Gold: Hunter Valley Gardens
- Specialised Tourism Services - Gold: Ask Roz
- Business Event Venues - Gold: Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
- Tour and/or Transport Operators - Gold: Beyond Ballooning
- Adventure Tourism - Gold: Beyond Ballooning
- Caravan and Holiday Parks - Gold: Blacksmiths Beachside Holiday Park
- Self-Contained Accommodation - Gold: Blueberry Hills on Comleroy
- Deluxe Accommodation - Gold: Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
Award winners from each region will advance to the NSW Tourism Awards and potentially the Australian Tourism Awards.
Oakvale Wildlife Park has been family owned and operated since 1979.
Set on 25 acres, Oakvale features more than 150 different species of animals including, koalas, domestic kangaroos, wombats, quokkas, Tasmanian devils, snakes, lizards, lemurs and Lumholtz tree kangaroos.
Oakvale Wildlife Park won bronze for best tourism attraction in the 2018 NSW Tourism Awards.
