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Thumbs Up for Armidale

The Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, has congratulated tourism businesses in Armidale, NSW for achieving one of the highest satisfaction ratings from visitors compared with other selected destinations across Australia

The Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Report from Tourism Research Australia put Armidale in the top ten (ninth) out of 62 destinations across Australia for visitor satisfaction. In a survey conducted in July and August 2009, 57 per cent of visitors to Armidale said they were very satisfied with their visit

Tourism Research Australia is presenting the survey results on behalf of Minister Ferguson to the Armidale Dumaresq Council today.

The research stated visitors were particularly impressed by the friendly, helpful and hospitable staff and friendly locals. They were happy with Armidale's tourism information services, shopping, food and wine, hotels and motels, roads and tours.

Minister Ferguson said, "For many regional communities such as Armidale, tourism is vital to the local economy. For tourism to succeed it needs not only good products and customer service but good local facilities. Last year the Australian Government provided almost $500,000 directly to Armidale Dumaresq Council for local community infrastructure including public facilities for tourists.

"Australians need to be reminded of the beauty of an Australian holiday. Tourism Australia and the Australian Government's domestic marketing "No Leave No Life" campaign encourages Australians to use their 123 million days of accumulated annual leave to take a short break. For Armidale that could mean a walk in the nearby Oxley Wild Rivers or Cathedral Rocks National Park, visiting a café or winery, perusing the local shops and spending some time with family and friends," he said.

"Tourism is dominated by small businesses- that is why, as part of the economic stimulus, the Australian Government invested more than $500 million in small business incentives and support to help the 93 per cent of tourism businesses in this category.

The Visitor Profile and Satisfaction (VPS) Program was completed as part of the Destination Visitor Survey Program (DVS) run by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism. Since 2006 about 70 VPS projects have been completed in Australian regional tourist destinations.

The Visitor Profile and Satisfaction Report can be obtained at http://www.ret.gov.au/tourism/tra/regional/destinations/Pages/default.aspx

Media contacts: Bindi Gove, 0406 644 913

Tourism focus proves popular for local amateur photographers

Armidale's iconic early morning Autumn fog was captured by local amateur photographer John Sheridan, with his image then capturing the attention of the judges at this year's Armidale Show Photography Competition to take out first prize in the Tourism Armidale major category.

This year an unprecedented prize pool in excess of $5500 and the inspiring theme of ‘Armidale Tourism', attracted a large number of entries into the eight categories across three age brackets: Under 12's, Under 18's and Adults.

Armidale Dumaresq Council sponsored the four adult categories of: Tourism Armidale, Black & White - Tourism Armidale; Portrait of Local Identity; and Armidale Winter Wonderland - Tourism Armidale.

Cr Paul Harmer, Chair of the Armidale Tourism Advisory Committee (ATAC) said he was impressed by the calibre of the entries and seeing the many different ways in which Armidale residents' viewed Armidale's best tourism assets. He also gave thanks to Damien Gosson from Inland Technology who generously donated two state-of-the-art Cannon cameras as competition prizes.

"The competition provided entrants with the opportunity to showcase what they believe is special about our region," Cr Harmer said. "We received a broad range of photos focusing on the many waterfalls in the region, our beautiful architectural buildings, local identities and events such as the Armidale Markets, the university and our breath-taking scenery."

The Council's Project Manager - Tourism, Marketing & Economic Development, Tony Broomfield, gave his thanks to all those who had contributed to the competition and provided the Council with such a broad range of images to be used in promoting the region.

"It has been a great result from a marketing perspective as the calibre of the photos was very high," Mr Broomfield said. "The photos will be used during the coming months to promote Armidale Tourism in a number of ways."

For further information contact Tony Broomfield on 6770 3876.
Photo: Front, Armidale Show Photography Competition winners John Sheridan and Joan Gates display their winning images as, rear from left, Show Stewards Sigrid Mitchell, Sharron Chappell, Tony Broomfield and Cr Paul Harmer.