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Best inTravel ExperiencesAwards
Recognising Australia's top travel experience operators.
About these Awards
The Experience Oz Best in Travel Experiences Awards pay tribute to the enormous contributions and efforts made by Australia's tourism operators in the tours and activities sector. These awards provide the opportunity to publicly acknowledge and showcase some of the finest operators within 12 major individual categories throughout the country, with a diversity of verticals ranging from day tours, to activities, to family attractions, cruises and a number of other key genres within the overall Tours and Activities umbrella.
Chosen from our extensive network of over 2,500 tour and attractions businesses throughout Australia, these awards recognise not only the raw excellence of select tourism product across the country, but also the accessibility of that product both to the domestic Australian community and the rest of the world via a mixture of direct and online channels.
As a consumer, you can have confidence that each of the below providers will offer a high quality travel experience - regardless of destination.
View aims, criteria & more below.
Aims & Objectives
The Experience Oz Best in Travel Experiences Awards aim to:
- Publicly recognise and reward excellence throughout the Tours and Activities sector of the Australian tourism industry
- Shine a spotlight on those operators who are examples of industry best practices (particularly online)
- Reinforce the value of Tour and Activities operators to the Australian tourism industry as a whole
- Serve as a testimonial for aspiring customers during consideration of booking Australian tourism product
- Highlight the importance of modern technological development/capability among the Tours & Activities sector
- Strengthen consumer confidence in the Tours & Activities sector as a key part of the overall travel experience
Criteria
These awards are based on a combination of weighted factors including:
- 1. Customer Review Scores
An aggregation of feedback obtained from the public through both our direct-to-consumer and B2B (post-arrival) platforms. This is judged on a mixture of both qualitative and quantitative bases.
- 2. Quality of Media
As visually showcasing tourism product is a key factor in influencing traveller behaviour both pre-arrival and in-destination, this factor looks at the quality of elements such as imagery, videos, designed graphics and other sensory display items that help demonstrate tour and activity product prior to booking.
- 3. Booking Capabilities
As consumers shift their focus towards booking tours & activities product more and more online and pre-arrival, functionality that helps smooth this booking process becomes crucial. This factor looks at features that aid this process including providing live availability, plentiful booking inventory, technological reliability, and various other elements.
- 4. Value / Quality of Life Inclusions
Rather than focusing purely on price and creating a "discount culture", this factor instead takes into account overall value of tours & activities product including extras such as merchandise, photography packs, accommodation transfers, meals and other augmentations that help make for a robust travel experience.
- 5. Uniqueness of Experience
As Australia is home to some of the most unique natural and man-made environments on Earth, this factor takes into account some of the logistical factors that tour & activities operators grapple with to provide amazing experiences. If the tour/attraction/activity is one-of-a-kind or otherwise rare in its offerings and creates a "must-do" element, this also plays a factor in its desirability.
- 6. Internal Data & Booking Volume
In addition to the above factors, we also take into account data from the millions of travellers who visit Experience Oz and partner platforms each year. This includes a combination of popularity of product, search volume, raw booking data, and quantity of customers (PAX) actually taking part in a tour or activity through our various channels as an indicator of experience desirability.
Categories
Award winners are organised by category that best reflects their core business.
Category 1: Activities (Adventure)
This category encompasses thrillseeking, adrenaline, heights and other unique adventure activities available across Australia that require physical exertion in some form.
Adventure Bay Charters
Port Lincoln, SA
AJ Hackett
Cairns, QLD
BridgeClimb Sydney
Sydney, NSW
Foaming Fury
Cairns, QLD
Raging Thunder
Cairns, QLD
Shark Dive Xtreme
Sydney, NSW
Skydive Australia
Multiple Locations
SkyPoint Climb
Gold Coast, QLD
Story Bridge Adventure Climb
Brisbane, QLD
Sydney Skydivers
Sydney, NSW
View & Vote for Category
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Category 3: Attractions (Family)
This category highlights the best "static" attractions centered around a single location, aimed at those looking for entertainment with kids in tow.
Australia Zoo
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Aussie World
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary
Gold Coast, QLD
Dreamworld
Gold Coast, QLD
Featherdale Wildlife Park
Sydney, NSW
Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Brisbane, QLD
Luna Park Sydney
Sydney, NSW
Melbourne Zoo
Melbourne, VIC
Merlin Entertainments Attractions
Sydney, NSW
SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Village Roadshow Theme Parks
Gold Coast, QLD
View & Vote for Category
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Category 4: Attractions (Unique)
This category encompasses one-of-a-kind attractions that blend together a unique mixture of either views, content, environment or other factor that cannot be replicated elsewhere in Australia.
Australian Outback Spectacular
Gold Coast, QLD
Dracula's Cabaret Restaurant
Gold Coast, Melbourne
Eureka Skydeck
Melbourne, VIC
Melbourne Star Wheel
Melbourne, VIC
Paronella Park
Mission Beach, QLD
Skyrail Rainforest Cableway
Cairns, QLD
Sydney Tower Buffet Restaurant
Sydney, NSW
The Ginger Factory
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Tropical Fruit World
Duranbah, NSW
Wheel of Brisbane
Brisbane, QLD
View & Vote for Category
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Category 5: Cruises (Other)
This category encompasses cruises that take marine journeys to destinations outside of rivers/canals, including to islands and open ocean.
Big Cat Cruises
Cairns, QLD
Cruise Whitsundays
Whitsundays, QLD
Dolphins in Paradise
Brisbane, QLD
Down Under Cruise & Dive
Cairns, QLD
Ocean Rafting
Whitsundays, QLD
Quicksilver Cruises
Cairns, QLD
Raging Thunder (Fitzroy Island)
Cairns, QLD
Rottnest Express
Perth, WA
Wavedancer Low Isles
Port Douglas, QLD
Wildlife Coast Cruises
Phillip Island, VIC
View & Vote for Category
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Category 6: Cruises (River)
This category showcases the best river/waterway sightseeing cruises with an emphasis on views, scenery or aquatic transportation with sights as an added drawcard.
AAT Kings Murray River
Adelaide, SA
Captain Cook Cruises Sydney
Sydney, NSW
Gordon River Cruises
Strahan, TAS
Melbourne River Cruises
Melbourne, VIC
Mirimar Cruises
Brisbane, QLD
Noosa Everglades Discovery
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Sydney Showboats
Sydney, NSW
Tamar River Cruises
Launceston, TAS
Vagabond Cruises Vivid Lights
Sydney, NSW
Wyndham Cruises
Gold Coast, QLD
View & Vote for Category
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Category 7: Cultural Experiences
This category showcases the best attractions, tours or activities with an educational, historical or cultural component that are both entertaining and informative.
AAT Kings Arnhemland Tour
Darwin, NT
National Maritime Museum
Sydney, NSW
Flames of the Forest
Port Douglas, QLD
The Quarantine Station
Sydney, NSW
Sovereign Hill
Ballarat, VIC
The Workshops Rail Museum
Ipswich, QLD
Tiwi Islands (AAT Kings)
Darwin, NT
Tjapukai Cultural Park
Cairns, QLD
Value (Down Under) Tours Daintree
Cairns, QLD
Sydney Outback Wilderness & Aboriginal Explorer + cruise
Sydney, NSW
View & Vote for Category
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Category 8: Food & Wine
This category is centered on the best experiences in which food or drink forms the main, or at least a major, component of the tour or activity.
AAT Kings Barossa Valley
Adelaide, SA
Captain Cook Cruises Perth
Perth, WA
Catch a Crab Cruises
Tweed Heads, NSW
Darwin Harbour Cruises
Darwin, NT
Coastal Cruises Mooloolaba
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Go West Yarra Valley
Melbourne, VIC
Magistic Cruises Dinner Cruise
Sydney, NSW
Spirit of Cairns
Cairns, QLD
Spirit of Melbourne Cruising Restaurant
Melbourne, VIC
Swan Valley Tours
Perth, WA
View & Vote for Category
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Category 9: Scenic Flights
This category encompasses airborne experiences in all forms of transportation including helicopter, light aircraft, hot air balloon and other miscellaneous aerial activities.
Balloon with HOT AIR
Cairns, QLD
Balloon Aloft Gold Coast
Gold Coast, QLD
Balloon Aloft Hunter Valley
Hunter Valley, NSW
Cloud 9 Seaplanes
Gold Coast, QLD
GBR Helicopters
Port Douglas, QLD
Global Ballooning
Melbourne, VIC
GSL Aviation
Whitsundays, QLD
Nautilus Aviation
Cairns, QLD
Sea World Helicopters
Gold Coast, QLD
Sydney Helitours
Sydney, NSW
View & Vote for Category
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Category 10: Tours (Multi-Day)
This category encompasses tours which extend to include either an overnight stay, or multiple day itineraries before returning to the origin destination.
AAT Kings Kangaroo Island
Adelaide, SA
Australian Sunset Safaris
Fraser Coast, QLD
DownUnder Cruise & Dive Reef & Kuranda
Cairns, QLD
Bunyip Tours Penguins & Great Ocean Road
Melbourne, VIC
Great Ocean Road Surf Tours
Melbourne, VIC
Lady Elliot Island Tours
Multiple Locations
Silversonic Reef & Cape Tribulation
Port Douglas, QLD
Wildlife Tours Australia Grampians & Great Ocean Road
Melbourne, VIC
Tours Tasmania Hobart to Launceston
Hobart, TAS
The Rock Tour Uluru Camping Tours
Alice Springs, NT
View & Vote for Category
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Category 11: Tours (Single Day)
This category is a selection of some of the premier tours which must be 12 hours or less in length, and ensure that participants end up back where they started after completion.
AAT Kings Blue Mountains/Jenolan
Sydney, NSW
AAT Kings Katherine Gorge
Darwin, NT
Croc Express (JPT Tours)
Brisbane, QLD
Emu Run Tours
Alice Springs, NT
Grayline Wave Rock
Perth, WA
Otway Discovery Tours
Great Ocean Road, VIC
Oz Trails Blue Mountains
Sydney, NSW
Scenic Hinterland Day Tours
Gold Coast, QLD
Tour Gold Coast Glow Worms
Gold Coast, QLD
Tropic Wings Skyrail & Kuranda
Cairns, QLD
View & Vote for Category
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Category 12: Wildlife Experiences
This category is comprised of the best wildlife encounters and activities that occur outside of a regulated zoo or wildlife park environment.
Hartley's Crocodile Adventures
Port Douglas, QLD
Pennicott Wilderness Journeys
Hobart, TAS
Phillip Island Nature Parks
Phillip Island, VIC
Queensland Scuba Diving
Gold Coast, QLD
Rockingham Wild Encounters
Perth, WA
Rottnest Fast Ferries
Perth, WA
Tasman Venture
Hervey Bay, QLD
Werribee Open Range Zoo
Werribee, VIC
Whale One
Sunshine Coast, QLD
Whales in Paradise
Gold Coast, QLD
View & Vote for Category
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About Experience Oz
Experiences are better than things
Experience Oz is an Australian online travel publisher and direct booking agent of TicketMates Australia, a long-running booking agent for tours and attractions experiences in over 50 regions all over Australia and New Zealand.
Through direct relationships with thousands of tour operators across both countries, we remain both connected to and passionate about the ANZ tourism industry, with a specific focus on the experiences that make for the essential backbone of travel adventures.
It's our belief that the role that experiences can often play as the driving force for travel in general is underrated, whether it be exploring incredible natural wonders, gaining insight into history and culture, or simply enjoying entertainment with friends and family. It's these experiences - not the flights, nor the hotel - which people will be sharing with others years to come.
MORE ABOUT US
Why Experiences?
"Experiences create conversation and storytelling; they can be shared with friends, and unlike possessions which can be replaced, memories made of your experiences cannot. They can lead to a healthier life, you don't need to upgrade them, and they get better over time. Things may last longer initially, but it's the memories of your experiences which will linger for the years and decades to come."
- The Experience Oz team on Experiences, Not Things
View more information on these award-winning operators and their incredible experiences by visiting Experience Oz below.
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