Region's Caravan Parks Honoured at State Awards

Mackay Tourism is proud to announce two of its members as award winners at this month’s Caravan Parks Association of Queensland Awards Dinner.

Held on Tuesday, 14 May 2019, the inaugural awards night held at The Star, Gold Coast, recognised outstanding caravan parks from across the state.

The Mackay Region was a big winner from the night, with local operators Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park and Sarina Palms Caravan Village collecting awards.

Sarina Palms Caravan Village were awarded the 2019 Tidy Park Award.

The caravan park was recognised for its beautifully manicured grounds and the overall high standard of tidiness of the park’s facilities. The park’s environment is enhanced with lush lawns, carefully shaped trees and bushes, and an interesting range of animals located around the park, leading to regular positive feedback on tidiness from guests.

Judges also commended park owners Dennis and Judy Wilson and their team for pride in the park’s presentation.

Upon receiving the award, Mrs Wilson said, “We are thrilled to receive the Tidy Park Award, as we take pride in having built Sarina Palms Caravan Village to be something special, consistently maintaining a high standard for many years. We very much appreciate support from the Caravan Parks Association of Qld, and their broadening of award categories to capture exceptional yet smaller parks.”

“Our aim is to provide our guests with a very special, relaxing and enjoyable experience staying with us. The beautiful tropical environment we provide is an integral part of achieving this, with our facilities maintained always in a clean, tidy and aesthetically pleasing manner. The Tidy Park Award reflects part of our picture, and with our welcoming, friendly and supportive team we aim to provide the best stay for our guests.”

“Sarina and the greater Mackay Region has many offerings for tourists and visitors. Sarina Palms as a gateway to the region, offers guests a beautiful environment to stay in, for a beautiful region.”

Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park were awarded the 2019 Environmental Award for their container collection and recycling program.

Ben and Renae Atherton, owners of Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park, initially introduced aluminium can collection cages in order to reduce their waste costs. They discovered that by collecting these cans and taking them in for recycling they could get paid for them, rather than having to pay someone else to take them away.

This initiative was providing the park with approximately $800 year in revenue just for encouraging guests to put their cans in the collection cages.

When the Queensland Government introduced the Container Deposit Scheme, Ben and Renae expanded this program to collect all refundable containers.

In the first 4 months of 2019, this program has reduced Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Parks waste by approximately 30% and has seen them collect $1,200 in refunds for these containers.

Michelle Weston, General Manager for Caravan Parks Association of Queensland, commented, “Queensland is incredibly lucky to be home to many quality caravan and holiday parks, each with their own point of difference.” 

She continued, “the inaugural Awards Dinner provided the opportunity to celebrate industry leaders for their achievements, from Queensland’s Tidy Park through to initiatives to protect the environment.”

General Manager of Mackay Tourism, Tas Webber, also congratulated Sarina Palms Caravan Village and Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park.

“Caravan Parks are a popular choice for the one million visitors to The Mackay Region each year,” he said.

Mr Webber continued, “The Mackay Region is fortunate to have such an outstanding offering of friendly and unique caravan parks, all of whom are dedicated to providing high quality customer service and environmental sustainability.”

“Congratulations to Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park and Sarina Palms Caravan Village on these thoroughly deserved awards,” he said.

More information on the Caravan Parks Association of Queensland Awards are available on Caravan Parks Association of Queensland website at www.caravanqld.com.au.

 

Contact: 

Daniel Brown - Communications Officer

0448 994 180

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

 

Published: 30 May 2019 

#visitmackay #ourisaac