After my successful re-election campaign, I will return for a fourth term as the Member for Southport. Along with this important role I have been appointed as the new Minister of Tourism and Fair Trading. This position also includes the Racing and Liquor Licensing portfolios.

During my time as Minister I will be visiting tourism icons all over Queensland and this page will keep track of my work. I encourage everyone to follow my travels as the Minister by reading below my entries into the Minister's Diary where I will write about my latest experiences.

Peter Lawlor.

2009 Tourism Queensland Awards
Posted by editor (editor) on Nov 26 2009
Ministerial Diary >>

Wow what a night! More than 900 people packed Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast for the Queensland Tourism Awards this year. 161 tourism operators waited with bated breath for the announcements but unfortunately there can only be a handful of winners. Congratulations to Australia Zoo taking out its third back-to-back Major Tourist Attraction catapulting it into the Tourism Hall of Fame! Other tourism operators to be inducted into the Hall of Fame included Capricorn region's Rubyvale Gem Gallery, Tropical North Qld reef tour operator Passions of Paradise and Townsville region's Noorla Heritage Resort.

The Brisbane region received the most awards this year taking out seven gongs, followed by the Gold Coast and Tropical North Qld with five, the Capricorn and Townsville regions received three each, the Sunshine Coast with two and the Whitsundays and Southern Downs each with one award. The Gold Coast Airport Marathon was awarded the best Major Festival and Event which is a fantastic achievement as it is now one of the world's top running events with more than 24,000 runners participating this year. For a full list of the winners head to http://www.queenslandtourismawards.com.au/ . Congratulations must go to Tourism Qld and the Qld Tourism Industry Council for organising and hosting the awards and a special thank you must go to the awards' platinum sponsor Qld Airports Ltd. Good luck to the winners who now go on to the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards to be held in Hobart in February.

Last changed: Nov 26 2009 at 10:23 AM