TAFE Queensland nominated for National Tourism award

NTIA recognises and rewards excellence in the Australian travel industry through a process that includes nominating, voting and judging candidates, culminating in the announcement of the winners at a Gala Awards Dinner.

The Awards are run annually by the Australian Travel Industry Association and are esteemed throughout the travel industry.

TAFE Queensland joins a prestigious list of nominees, including CLIA Australasia, Helloworld Travel, TAFE NSW, TAFE SA and Virtuoso, all vying for the 2023 Award.

This year, nominees will be able to showcase how they have demonstrated outstanding conduct and excellence in customer service and industry/trade support.

TAFE Queensland’s nomination comes after years of hard work by the Faculty of Tourism Hospitality and Personal Services team, which focussed on maintaining and growing industry relationships to ensure a pipeline of skilled talent was ready to help recover from COVID-19.

Led by Educational Team Leader Kate O'Mara-Smith, the team worked with local tourism businesses to ensure that what they taught students throughout the pandemic would ensure they had the relevant skills they needed to hit the ground running within the tourism industry.

Despite the uncertainty the tourism industry was experiencing, Kate and her team ensured that students could apply their skills and knowledge in a live work environment through vocational placements with industry partners, enhancing their skills further.

The team also ensured that courses were accessible to enable students to balance their work with their studies. Flexible delivery modes provided a study model for all potential travel and tourism students.

Staff also linked students with industry events and encouraged them to attend, to experience the industry's diverse scope and establish industry connections.

Director of Faculty Pat Dennis said Queensland’s tourism industry had seen extraordinary growth as domestic and international tourists returned to the Sunshine State.

“It’s important to celebrate and acknowledge our people's innovation, determination and resilience as they collaborated with industry during uncertain times to ensure Queensland’s tourism businesses had a strong pool of talent to draw from after the pandemic,” Mr Dennis said.

“By staying connected during tough times, we played our essential role in training the next generation of tourism personnel that the industry needed.”

“Now we’re experiencing guests' return to our region, and our tourism businesses are thriving. I congratulate all our staff, teachers, students and industry partners for remaining positive, showing resilience and collaborating during the uncertain times of the pandemic,” concluded Mr Dennis.

The team is now looking forward to attending the 2023 NTI Awards, which will be held in Melbourne on November 18, 2023.