Recognition for tourism operators

Mount White is a popular tourist destination Photo: James Horan

The Central Coast’s 2024 tourism industry winners were celebrated at an event hosted by Mayor Lawrie McKinna on Thursday, December 19, at the Central Coast Visitor Centre at The Entrance.

The celebration event recognised the significant contribution 20 award-winning Central Coast businesses have made in raising the profile of the Central Coast through tourism and business excellence.

McKinna said the array of awards showcases the dynamic and diverse range of local businesses and their outstanding achievements.

“I feel it is really important to recognise and publicly acknowledge what these businesses have achieved this year and hope that it will also build confidence for other businesses on the Coast, knowing that the Central Coast is winning awards nationally and internationally,” he said.

Business award winners included fine dining restaurants, a brewery, distillery and winery, popular major attractions, business events venues and arts and cultural festivals.

There was also international recognition for the growing list of eco-certified operators in the region.

“The Central Coast visitor economy has without a doubt recovered post-pandemic with a renewed focus now on sustainable growth,” McKinna said.

“The latest Destination NSW Central Coast Visitor Profile for year ending June 2024 reveals the value of the Central Coast visitor economy is increasingly prominent.

“Council applauds all the local businesses who are committed to the economic growth of the region through tourism and business excellence.”

Central Coast had a total of 5.3 million visitors in 2024, with 5.8 million overnight stays and $1.4B injected into the local economy.

Domestic overnight travel was up by 18.8 per cent.

The average stay was 2.6 nights with an average spend of $500 per visitor.

ReviewPro insights reveal excellent results for visitor experience and customer satisfaction in the Destination Central Coast Q1 report for July-September, 2024., which used online reviews from 175+ sites.

The online reputation for the Central Coast scored highly with tourism operators at 89 per cent, restaurants at 86 per cent and ECO Certified Operators at 95 per cent, demonstrating the high-quality tourism experiences and positive feedback generated for the region, McKinna said.

“I expect that in 2025, we will see a continuing number of awards being won by local businesses as well as Council’s own Destination Central Coast marketing arm,” he said.

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