Tourism Business Awards
Entry Manual
Tourism Business Awards
INDEX
1. Excellence in Tourism and Business
2. The Awards “In a Nutshell”
3. Welcome to the Tourism Business Awards
4. Entering the Tourism Awards
5. The Specific Awards
6. “Best in Service” Award (Gladstone Region Only)
7. The “Hall of Fame”
8. The “Outstanding Contribution” Award
9. The “Where Great Begins” Award
10. What do I have to do to enter?
11. The Judging Process
12. The Site Visit
13. What happens if you win?
14. The Awards Timeline
15. Who can I contact?
16. Entry Terms and Conditions
17. Entry Categories for 2014
18. Other Awards
19. The Specification and Rules of Entry
20. The Submission Questions
* NOTE:
The Awards Entry Forms and Templates are available in The Entry Format.
Hints and Suggestions for preparing your submission are available in Your Entry Guide.
These documents are available from GAPDL or to download from the following websites:
www.gladstoneregion.info
www.capricorntourism.com.au
www.bundabergregion.info
1. EXCELLENCE IN TOURISM AND BUSINESS
The Southern Great Barrier Reef Tourism Business Awards are designed to highlight excellence amongst tourism
business operations in the Gladstone, Bundaberg and Capricorn Regions.
The Awards bring together tourism operators and services within a significant and exciting “slice” of Queensland
based in Capricorn, Gladstone and Bundaberg, their attractive coastlines, islands and reefs, and adventurous
hinterlands.
The goal is to recognise those businesses and individuals whose tourism businesses and services set a high standard in a zone of growing interest to tourists and visitors. Members of the three Regional Tourism Organisations (RTO) are invited to submit entries in the 2014 Awards.
The Gladstone Region is the host of this year’s awards, and entrants will celebrate the gala awards presentation
night at the Gladstone Entertainment and Convention Centre on Saturday 1 November 2014. An invitation and
RSVP form for these celebrations will be issued at a later date.
This document outlines the guidelines, the entry categories and the criteria that nominees should address in their
entry document. Enquiries should be directed to the 2014 Host RTO Awards Coordinator: GAPDL (Gladstone Area
Promotion and Development Limited) – Phone 4972 4000 or email [email protected]
2. THE AWARDS “IN A NUTSHELL”
The 2014 Tourism Business Awards are the Annual Celebration of our strong focus on the Tourism Industry. They
are directed towards improvement of the industry as a whole and by individual operators, and acknowledge tourism and other businesses that have demonstrated outstanding achievement and success throughout the year.
It is designed to encourage operators to review and develop the aspects of their business which will upgrade their
level of professionalism, service and viability of tourism and services in our three regions. Entry is free.
Our objectives will be achieved only by strong interest and participation in the Tourism Awards, including the
development of detail for your entry submission. Your participation is important.
Entrants are asked to prepare a short written submission based on 5 set topics with sub-questions, designed to
help you explain your management, planning, as well as your operation. There will be a site visit where finalists’
points are too close to separate from their written submission.
Entrants should be aware that these Awards do not have links to the Queensland State Tourism Awards, and
the entry format is quite different. Our awards are designed to make the process simpler to encourage new
and smaller operators to enter at this level.
Entrants are encouraged to re-align their entries for entry into the State and National Awards.
In brief, there are 7 simple steps. While it might seem complicated, it all falls into place, and can be a rewarding
experience for you.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
READ the Entry Material.
DECIDE your Entry Category/Categories.
NOTE the Specifications for the Submission.
PREPARE your Submission by answering the questions.
REVIEW the Awards check-list.
SUBMIT your Entry by the due date.
ATTEND the Gala Awards Night.
RECEIVE Recognition.
3. WELCOME TO THE TOURISM BUSINESS AWARDS
The Southern Great Barrier Reef Tourism Business Awards highlight the importance of the tourism industry, bring
operators together and recognise excellence. They are designed to be an enjoyable and
interesting challenge for your business; one which will help into the future. All you need to know about the Tourism Awards is contained in three sets of documents:
•
The ENTRY MANUAL which contains the detail and specifications. (This document)
•
The ENTRY FORMAT which sets out the entry forms and a submission template
•
The ENTRY GUIDE which provides helpful hints on your entry and answering the questions.
These documents and other Awards information can be downloaded from www.gladstoneregion.info
We believe that recognising and rewarding excellence is one tangible way we can help you compete in this very
challenging market. These annual awards are submission-based, and the awards ceremony publicly recognises
and showcases the Southern Great Barrier Reef’s finest operators and the treasures of our Region.
Please pass to the organisers any comments and suggestions for improvement in future Awards.
4. ENTERING THE TOURISM AWARDS
All financial members of one of the three RTOs are invited to enter the Tourism Business Awards, under one of 14
categories. Entry is by self-nomination by way of an “exciting” submission which profiles your operation.
While most of the Award categories are tourism-related, there are also some suited to general retail and services.
You must have been trading in your current form, or having staged/implemented your activity or event, for most
of the 12 months of the specified Award year.
You may enter more than one category; choose the one/s which best suits your business operations. Begin planning your entry well in advance in view of the detail required in the submission.
An awards sponsor may enter the awards competition, but is not eligible to compete in the category that they are
sponsoring.
An Awards entry encourages you to think about your business planning; your customer service; your staff; your
products and services; and your marketing. In doing so, you might find ways to improve what you do.
5. THE TOURISM AWARDS
CATEGORY AWARDS: Subject to the judges’ decision, an Award is presented for each of the 14 Categories which are
designed to be appropriate for all tourism and related businesses. The Awards are announced at the Gala Tourism
Award Evening. The categories are listed in the Entry Categories Table (Section 16 of this document). Judges decisions are final.
There are also 4 special awards (entry not required):
•
THE TOURISM CHAMPION: The business judged from all category winners is the Zonal Tourism Champion for the Year.
•
THE BEST SUBMISSION: Recognition by the judges of the best submission/s among all category winners.
•
THE HALL OF FAME: This recognises a winner who has achieved three successive wins in that category. (Details below in Section 7)
•
THE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD: An Award recognising an outstanding contribution by an individual to regional tourism and business over an extended period of time. This is separate from the Tourism Award judging process. (Details below in Section 8)
6. “BEST IN SERVICE” AWARD (Sponsor TBC)
The“Best in Service” Award category is generously sponsored and will be administered by the sponsor
Any Business within the Gladstone Region only may nominate in this category (Not just GAPDL members).
Nominations will be promoted and received through the sponsor
The public will vote for their favourite nominated business, with the business receiving the most votes announced as
the winner on the Awards night.
7. THE HALL OF FAME
This special prestigious honour is given to a winner who has achieved three successive annual wins in their category.
This is considered the “pinnacle” of tourism achievement.
The criteria applying to this are:
•
An entrant who wins the same category three years in a row is entered into the Hall of Fame.
•
The definition “the same category” applies should there be a change of category requiring that entrant to enter an amended or different one.
•
Special recognition is given to this entrant on the Awards Night, as the ultimate accolade of tourism achievement.
•
That entrant may still enter that category, or may enter a different category if it is open and relevant to them.
8. THE OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD
This annual Award recognises an outstanding contribution by an individual to regional tourism and business over an
extended period of time. This is separate from the Tourism Award judging process.
RTO members are invited to submit a separate nomination to their RTO, stating in writing:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Nominee’s personal details including a photo.
The length of time the nominee has been involved in promoting tourism.
Position/s held by the individual in the past and now.
The direct contribution to the business they are involved with.
The wider contribution of the individual to tourism.
Other participation and involvement.
Supporting letters of commendation.
These should be submitted and marked “Confidential” by the Awards closing date.
9. THE “WHERE GREAT BEGINS” AWARD
The ‘Where Great Begins’ award is a new award that will be open to any member from any of the three Southern
Great Barrier Reef RTO’s – GAPDL, Capricorn Enterprise, Bundaberg North Burnett Tourism. Operators can be
nominated by a proposer completing a simple ‘tick’ nomination sheet for this category and returning the completed
form to GAPDL.
Nominees for this award will be independently reviewed and judged via phone, internet, and social media streams
on aspects including professionalism, online reputation, customer service, social media activities including audience
engagement, ease and clarity of information available, online booking facilities, product information and their
support for and alignment with the Southern Great Barrier Reef positioning and branding.
As mentioned Judging will be independent and undertaken by someone located outside the SGBR region.
The winner will be announced at the Gala Awards Evening.
10. WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO?
YOUR AWARD SUBMISSION: You are required to present a submission that provides information which describes
your business under five (5) specific headings and questions. The templates and forms in The Entry Format, and the
hints and suggestions in The Entry Guide document will help you do this.
The weighting and space you give to each topic and answer is a matter for your judgement within the maximum
allowance of 20 printed pages. Apart from your 100-word publicity summary, your submission is strictly confidential, and is opened and viewed only by an independent panel of judges, who sign a confidentiality declaration.
Submit your entry before the closing date by completing the Entry Form with one (1) copy of the entry submission
and any supporting appendix you have prepared. Late entries will not be accepted.
Send this in a sealed envelope with the completed cover sheet to: GAPDL, Confidential – Notice of Submission of
Entry, PO Box 5186, Gladstone QLD 4680 (These forms are included in The Entry Format).
THE GALA AWARD EVENT: Note the date of Saturday 1 November 2014 in your diary, and await the official invitation with full details. RSVP promptly.
“WHERE GREAT BEGINS” AWARD: If you wish to nominate your business for the “Where Great Begins” Award, you
should complete and submit a “Where Great Begins” Nomination Form (included in the Entry Format document).
ENTRY CLOSURE: All entries close at 4 pm Friday September 26. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact Brooke Thomassen or Patricia Rizzato from GAPDL (Phone 4972 4000) who will assist with further
information.
Please encourage your business associates to enter, as this creates an even wider involvement in the awards competition, and increases awareness of the significance and importance of our quality tourism industry.
11. THE JUDGING PROCESS
To ensure an objective assessment of all submissions, the entries will be judged by a panel of three (3)
independent judges – 1 from each of our regions – working with an over-viewing and independent Chairperson.
There is a 100-point marking system. Including 5 points for compliance and presentation of your entry. Any
question not answered will be given zero points.
In some categories, competition is so close and the deduction of points could be the difference in the result. The
judges have the right not to recommend a category award where the required standard is not met.
The judges follow guidelines and procedures to ensure that the evaluation process is as independent, fair,
impartial and thorough as possible. No copies are made of any entry material and judging forms are destroyed on
completion. Entry submissions are sealed and returned to each entrant by a member of the judging panel.
Note that the relevant entry question under the Business Plan does not require you to provide sensitive financial
information. It does, however, require you to demonstrate your financial viability with explanations, date and
trends.
The judging panel supplies a Feedback Report to each entrant to assist them with improvements and opportunities to their entry and to business practices.
12. THE SITE VISIT
Unlike the State Tourism Awards, the Zonal Tourism Business Awards do not specify a site visit to every entrant.
There are two reasons for this:
•
The cost and time commitment of arranging such visits across such a vast Zone.
•
The emphasis on successfully defining your business and its planning in a written submission.
It has been decided that if finalists in a category cannot be separated, a site visit will then be arranged to achieve a
result. If this is necessary, the visit will be pre-arranged during the judging process.
13. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU WIN?
There will be a winner announced in each category. There will be a number of finalists announced but there is no
runner-up award. A category winner will be awarded a framed certificate at the Gala Awards Evening.
Winners can expect to receive media publicity, and will appear on the three RTO’s websites for a period of 12
Months.
Winners may use the Awards logo for promotion and marketing material of their business for a maximum period
of two years following the year of winning, then afterwards reference in text only.
14. THE 2014 AWARDS TIMELINE (Please note these dates in your diary)
ACTIVITY
DATE
NOTES
Call for Entries
Entries Close
Judging
Awards Night
Entry documents returned
From Monday 4 August
4pm Friday 26 September Wednesday 8 / Thursday 9 October
Saturday 1 November
From Monday 3 November
Entry Forms in the Entry Format
Gladstone Entertainment Centre
15. WHO CAN I CONTACT FOR FURTHER INFORMATION?
Brooke Thomassen, Project Support Officer, GAPDL: (07) 4972 4000 [email protected]
Patricia Rizzato, Marketing and Promotions Project Officer, GAPDL: (07) 4972 4000 [email protected]
16. ENTRY TERMS AND CONDITIONS
1.ENTRY: Entry denotes acceptance of the entry terms, conditions and rules.
2.
QUALIFYING PERIOD: The qualifying period to be covered in the entry submission is the financial year 01 July 2013 to 30 June 2014.
3.
TRADING PERIOD: An entrant must have traded in tours, services, events, campaigns and promotions which have occurred during the entire qualifying period. A new business must have traded for a substantial part of the defined year.
4.PUBLICITY: By entering, entrants agree to being profiled and mentioned in media publicity, including photographs. This may include use of the 100-word summary of your business. Your contact details may be supplied to agencies for promotional/advertising purposes.
5.
CLOSING TIME: Entries must be received by the defined closing time.
6.NON-ACCEPTANCE: Entries sent by Fax or E-mail will not be accepted.
7.CONFIDENTIALITY: The information contained in all entries will be treated in strict confidence, assessed only by the judges and sealed envelopes will be opened on the night.
8.PACKAGING: Entries should not be submitted in elaborate presentation packs, boxes etc. Packaging of this style is removed prior to judging.
9.CATEGORIES: The judges may alter an entrant’s category so it is judged under the one most appropriate.
10.AWARD: The Judges reserve the right not to make an award in a particular category.
11.
LOGO USE: An award winner may use this year’s award recognition logo for a maximum of two years following the year of winning, then afterwards in text only.
12.DISCLAIMER: GAPDL, as organisers, will not be held responsible for any damages, loss and damage of materials that are submitted for judging. I/we agree not to bring any claim against GAPDL or the judges in relation to feedback on your submission.
13.
JUDGES DECISION: The judges’ decision is final and may not be appealed. Any grievance
(unrelated to the judges’ decision) should be drawn to the attention of the organising committee.
17. TOURISM ENTRY CATEGORIES FOR 2014
Choose the category/ies that best describes the main activity of your business. You may enter more than one
appropriate category. The judges have the right to move an entry to a more appropriate category:
No.
1.
TOURISM AWARD CATEGORY
NOTES
Visitor Attraction
2.
Environment, History and
Heritage
Festival or Event
An attraction, activity or tour featuring a specific interest/s for
visitors. They may operate in conjunction with a natural feature or
on their own.
An activity featuring and focusing primarily on the environment,
ecotourism, history, heritage and indigenous tourism.
An organised significant activity presented for entertaining larger
numbers of visitors - annually or regularly.
Coffee shops, cafes, catering, pizza, take-away, wineries.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Food & Beverage – Casual Dining
Food & Beverage – Formal
Dining
Accommodation – Hotel/Resort
Accommodation - Standard:
Under 3½ stars
Accommodation – Deluxe
4 to 5 stars
Accommodation – Caravan
Parks and General
Retail Business
12.
Media, Marketing and
Communications
Visitor Information Services
13.
Tourism Support Services
14.
Travel & Transportation
Services
11.
Dine-in Restaurants (stand alone or with other operations Eg
Hotels).
A hotel or resort of any star rating where the focus is on both the
facilities and services. It offers a larger range of accommodation,
meals, services, facilities and support staff.
Accommodation-only units, motels and residences which are
assessed up to and including 3 ½ star rating.
Accommodation-only units, motels and residences which are
assessed at 4 to 5 star rating.
Caravan parks, hosted accommodation, backpacker facilities and
other less-formal accommodation.
Any form of retail sales, business or service including a focus on
visitors and customers.
All forms of media, publications, promotions, marketing,
campaigns, tourism websites and tourism technology innovations.
Visitor information services and centres, or locations significantly
providing this service.
Professional, trade, technical, consultant, conference centres,
training and other services that enhance and support the tourism
industry.
A business providing or supporting travel and transportation for
visitors to and/or within the region.
18. OTHER AWARDS
No.
15.
TOURISM AWARD CATEGORY
NOTES (entry not required)
Best Submission
16.
17.
Tourism Champion
Recognition by the judges of the best submission among all
category winners.
Chosen by the judges from the 14 category winners.
18.
Hall of Fame
Outstanding Contribution
An individual or business that has made an outstanding
contribution to the Zonal or regional tourism industry across
several years.
Recognition of a winner in that category three years in a row.
* Current Hall of Fame Members are entitled to nominate for any
of the specified award categories.
No.
19.
TOURISM AWARD CATEGORY
NOTES (entry not required)
“Best in Service” Award (Gladstone
Region Only) Sponsor TBC
Any Business within the Gladstone Region may nominate in
this category. Nominations will be promoted and received
by the sponsor. The public will vote for their favourite
nominated business.
20.
Customer Service Award
“Where Great Begins”
Any RTO Member may nominate in this category. Nominees for
this award will be independently reviewed and judged via phone,
internet, and social media streams on aspects including professionalism, online reputation, customer service, social media activities including audience engagement, ease and clarity of information available, online booking facilities, product information and
their support for and alignment with the Southern Great Barrier
Reef positioning and branding.
19. THE SPECIFICATION AND RULES OF ENTRY
Entrants are required to conform to these entry guidelines and requirements. To ensure consistency and fairness in
judging, this specification must be strictly met.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
ITEM
ENTRY
DOCUMENT
SIZE
FORMAT
STYLE AND FONT
6.
TEXT SPACING
7.
COLOUR
8.
PHOTOS
9.
MAXIMUM PAGES
AND NUMBERING
10.
PAGE
EXCLUSIONS
ENTRY
QUESTIONS
11.
13.
ENTRY
LAY-OUT
BINDING
14.
APPENDIX
15.
ENCLOSURES
12.
SPECIFICATION
One (1) bound copy of your submission is required.
The document must be in hard [paper] copy only - No Email or fax.
Your entry must be A4 size.
Landscape or portrait format is acceptable.
Your entry style should (i) Be computer-based, (ii) Use Arial (standard) or Times
New Roman font throughout (iii) Use 10 point font size for text (though
headings may be slightly larger to enhance presentation). The use of italics and
bold is optional.
For your text, one and a half (1½) line spacing is to be used.
This rule does not apply to the question, headings, captions, other lay-out
requirements, footers or text within multi-column tables.
The use of colour is not essential but is encouraged, provided the text remains
readable. Your entry cover design is your responsibility.
The use of photographs throughout the submission, while not essential, is
encouraged. Photos should be relevant to that page’s text. Captions are
desirable.
The maximum size of a submission is 20 printed pages (single sided) or 10
(double-sided). This is a maximum only. Entrants are not penalised if they have
covered the questions adequately using lesser space. Pages must also be
numbered.
The maximum page limit does not include your entry form, cover page/s, an
index, unprinted dividers or Appendix material (Item 14).
Include the questions printed at the start of each answer. It is desirable (but not
essential) to start a new question on a new page. Any question not answered
will be given 0 points.
Entrants may include photos, charts, graphs and other illustrations in their
submission, provided it remains within the length specified.
Your entry must be bound (eg stapled, spiral, A4 binder or heat seal). Ensure
that the binding does not hide any text.
Entrants may attach an Appendix of up to five (5) supporting sets of
information of their choice (eg: documents, brochures, maps, photographs,
rate cards, extracts from procedures and operating manuals, website, awards,
testimonials etc). These must be bound in a folder, with an index and with no
loose material.
Do not send separate enclosures, brochures, samples, promotional material etc.
The judges view only the Submission and the Appendix.
A checklist is provided in the Entry Guide document. It is strongly recommended that you take advantage of this,
as failure to comply with the specification will result in a loss of points.
20. THE SUBMISSION QUESTIONS
The questions to be addressed under 5 topics are summarised below. These are detailed in The Entry Format document and templates. The weighting and space you give to each answer is a matter for your judgement within
the maximum page allowance of 20 (though keep in mind the points weighting).
TOPIC
INDEX AND SUMMARY
1. PRODUCT
2. BUSINESS PLANS
3. MARKETING
4. CUSTOMER SERVICE;
STAFF
DEVELOPMENT
5. SUSTAINABILITY AND
INNOVATION
ENTRY
COMPLIANCE
TOTAL POINTS
WHAT IS REQUIRED [Summary only]
Provide an Index. On this page, include a key description of
about 100 words of your business, products and services to (i)
Brief the judges and (ii) For publicity and promotion.
The nature and history of your product, services, facilities and
the experience you provide for visitors.
Your vision, research, goals, strategies and outcomes for the
year. Financial viability. Risk mitigation. Your involvement in
tourism. A new business should outline the philosophies and
rationale behind commencing the development.
Who are your target markets? The implementation and
outcomes of your marketing strategies. What is your distinctive
difference?
How do you maintain quality customer service? Providing for
people with specific needs? How do you identify and meet staff
development needs? Describe training/skills development
programmes.
Demonstrate your commitment to environmental sustainability.
How does your business respect the local community and
culture? Describe innovations during the qualifying period.
Points may be deducted if there is any departure from the
specification in the presentation of your entry.
POINTS
0
25
25
15
15
15
5
100
* NOTE:
The Awards Entry Forms and Templates are available in The Entry Format
Hints and Suggestions for preparing your submission are available in Your Entry Guide