2023 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards

Steve Crawford

Chairman

From 1980 onwards, Steve Crawford has enjoyed a long and passionate association with Western Australia’s tourism development mostly in senior management roles within government.

The diversity of his experience extends to tourism destination planning, research and management, trade marketing, tourism education, and business development. Steve has represented Western Australia on numerous national bodies and is recognised as a leader in his field with many accolades including National and State Tourism Awards.

University Associate and Chair, Tourism Research Cluster (Advisory Panel) at Curtin University; Deputy Chair, Forum Advocating Cultural and Eco Tourism; board member, Edith Cowan University Tourism and Hospitality Consultative Committee; Deputy Chair, Australia’s South West, and a National Tourism Awards judge.

Steve’s formal qualifications include a Doctor of Business Administration.

Yasmine Gray

Accessibility Consultant

Yasmine has a lifetime of experience as an avid traveller for both business and leisure, including over 25 years travelling with a disability. Having experienced first-hand the barriers people with disability face when engaging in travel and leisure activities, Yasmine founded GetAboutAble in 2015 out of a desire to make travel and leisure more accessible and inclusive for all. Having grown up in Europe and North America, Yasmine immigrated to Australia in 1991 and had successful careers in academia and the public service before creating GetAboutAble and becoming a vocal advocate for accessibility and inclusion in the tourism sector.

CBR

Pam Faulks

Dr Pam Faulks has been involved in the tourism industry for over 15 years, initially as a researcher and academic at the University of Canberra and then later in tourism-related roles with the federal and ACT governments and non-government organisations. While her research focus was on sports tourism, she is passionate about all aspects of tourism and events and loves finding out more about some of Australia’s best kept secrets through the Australian Tourism Awards.

Lauren Sutherland

Lauren is a Canberra region enthusiast, and has spent over 15 years in management roles in the hotel and hospitality industry across the ACT. Since moving into the public sector, Lauren has continued sharing her passion for tourism as the Operations Manager for the Canberra & Region Visitors Centre and now with ACT Parks & Conservation Service as the Commercial Tourism Project Manager. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys wining and dining at many of Canberra’s wonderful restaurants and bars, attending life drawing sessions and getting out in nature with her dogs.

Birgitte Petersen

Birgitte currently works with Doma Hotels in Canberra as Human Resource Manager and has been involved in the local ACT & Region Tourism Awards for more than 10 years as a judge, mentor and as part of the steering committee.

Having grown up in a hospitality family in one of the most popular Tourism spots in Denmark, Birgitte’s passion for tourism was spiked early on and her career has taken her to hotels and training institutes around the world, working in Australia, NZ, United Kingdom and Spain, before settling in Australia.

Avon Dissanayake

Avon is a tourism industry veteran with a passion for helping businesses thrive. He has a proven track record of driving growth and innovation, and his work has been recognised with both state and national awards.

As a leader within the ACT Government, Avon is responsible for developing and implementing digital strategies that support the local community. He is also a respected content creator and brand strategist, and his work has been featured in multiple publications. Avon is a creative storyteller who is always looking for new ways to engage audiences. As a digital influencer with a large following on digital media his work helps to promote tourism businesses and strengthen the visitor economy.

Northern Territory

Jodie Summers

Jodie is a descendant of the Mamu people of the Innisfail region in Queensland and has lived in Alice Springs for 25 years. Life in the Northern Territory has offered a rewarding career in senior leadership positions across several industries including tourism and hospitality and the not-for-profit sector. Most recently Jodie has worked in local government and is now the Associate Vice-Chancellor Central Australia for Charles Darwin University.

Grant Whan

Grant has over 30 years tourism experience in Central Australia, including 22 years in business management. He commenced his own tour operation in Alice Springs at the age of 19 and has managed a number of key attractions in Central Australia, including both the RFDS and School of the Air Visitor Centre`s. During this time Grant was successful in writing five winning Brolga submissions and took out the Chairman`s Choice Award in 2007. In 2019 Grant was the proud recipient of the George Dunn Award for Outstanding Contribution by an Individual.

For the last 11 years Grant has been employed in tourism business advisory and industry development roles, with Tourism NT as well as the Department of Business. He is now a Business Mentor for the Business Enterprise Centre NT servicing the Central Australian region, specialising in Tourism.

Russell White

Russell White founded inbound tour company ATS Pacific in 1980, which over 25 years grew into a large regional business of over 300 staff, with offices in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, and annual sales of $100m from a global client base of leading international tour operators. The company became an innovator in terms of Australian product development and tourism technology, and helped introduce many small and large local operators to the global markets. Russell has a deep understanding of the challenges facing tourism business in becoming ‘export ready’ and seeking to position themselves into international markets.

Kirsty Sayers-Hunt

Kirsty moved to the Northern Territory from North West WA in 2002 and has lived in the Darwin rural area for the past twelve years. In WA, Kirsty worked for the Regional Tourism Association and then managed the Visitor Centre in Exmouth on the Ningaloo Reef.

Currently employed in the electoral office for the Federal Member for Lingiari, Kirsty enjoys working closely with the community to address their concerns and provide assistance on a range of matters related to the Federal Government.

She has previously worked for her family’s solar installation business, has managed the Tourism Accreditation Program within Tourism NT and as a Senior Contract Manager for the Federal Government’s Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

New South Wales

Natalie Bramble

Natalie Bramble has been involved in the NSW Tourism Awards since 2010. She has sat on other panels including the Vanuatu Tourism Awards, Restaurant and Catering NSW, Australian Hotels Awards and many government and private grant and tender assessment panels.

Natalie worked in a variety of her families businesses’; has managed a state heritage listed cultural heritage tourism attraction, studied cultural and heritage tourism in the UK and launched an events management company, which managed the Inland NSW Tourism Awards and a regional food and wine network.

Natalie’s career and life’s work is at the intersection of social, tourism and economic impact to develop healthy, sustainable and resilient communities. She supports regional community leaders, entrepreneurs and social enterprises to develop, sustain and grow their organisations and their impact.

Lisa Campbell

With nearly 20 years of experience as a Judge for Tourism Awards, including ACT, NSW, and Australian Tourism Awards, Lisa has also chaired the NSW Tourism Awards. Her 30-year career spans Australia and Europe, encompassing roles across various tourism sectors and extending to training in government, academia, and the private sphere. Currently a Senior Training Systems Consultant, Lisa specialises in project management of training initiatives, with a focus on quality standards from project initiation to closure. Lisa's impact on the industry is truly remarkable.

Ian Mason

Ian has a passion for regional tourism, with extensive management experience in visitor servicing, marketing and tourism development across local government and regional tourism organisations. Ian has post-graduate qualifications in both tourism and communications, and leverages more than 30 years' experience in tourism, public relations, hospitality, project management and training to restructure businesses and grow regions. He is a transformational specialist, helping achieve success by creating compelling experiences for visitors.

Karina Groth

Karina passionately empowers women to realise their full potential through her unique management of three women's only boxing studios, Punch Love Women's Fitness, in Greater Sydney. With a background in the tourism industry, she draws on over two decades of experience to provide specialised grant and bid preparation services. Her excellence in the field was recognised with awards like 'Outstanding Contribution to the Tourism Industry' and the Accommodation Association of Australia's HOSTPLUS ACES Award.

Queensland

Judith Mair

Judith is an Associate Professor at the UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Australia. After 10 years working in the tourism industry in her native Scotland, Judith moved to Australia and began work as a teaching and research academic. Judith’s work aims to understand and enhance the positive impacts of tourism and events on the communities and societies which host them. She is working on a number of projects in fields including mega-event legacies, the future of events, the links between events and social connectivity and the potential impacts of climate change on the events sector.

Gary Mears

Gary Mears CVE has achieved a successful career in tourism, marketing, events and venue management including more than 33 years in senior executive positions. Achievements include the redevelopment and promotion of leading festivals, large event venues, tourism and visitor information centres in major Queensland centres. He is an Accredited Venue Manager, Certified Venue Executive and was awarded as ‘Venue Professional of the Year’ (VMA Asia Pacific). Gary currently undertakes Quality Tourism Framework assessments for Accommodation Star Ratings, Quality Tourism Accreditation, Queensland Tourism Awards and the Australian Tourism Awards.

Sarah Whyte

A passionate advocate for tourism, Sarah has more than 25 years’ experience in the industry, working across several regions in Queensland including the Gold Coast, Fraser Coast and the Whitsundays.

Holding key marketing roles in a number of organisations including Tourism & Events Queensland, Gold Coast Tourism, 5 star hotels, small business and inbound travel, Sarah has extensive experience in destination, brand and digital marketing, including work on major international tourism campaigns.

Sarah is currently the Head of Communications & Brand Marketing for Brisbane Airport Corporation where she leads the organisation’s brand and multi-platform communications strategy.

Sarah swapped the buzz of the inner-city for the open space of a country lifestyle and is relishing the challenge - growing vegetables, starting a fruit orchard and managing a small menagerie of chickens.

Andrew Millward

Andrew Millward manages Australian Retirement Trust’s Member Rewards program offering discounts and benefits to over 1 million members Australia-wide.

Andrew has held Senior Management roles in Tourism and Travel for the past 30 years, developing a number of key Tourism products and services including a range of web-based and mobile tourism applications. Andrew is the current Chair of Judges for the Queensland Tourism Awards and has been judging in various capacities for over 15 years.

South Australia

Amanda Dalton-Winks

Amanda is a freelance business consultant with over 25 years’ experience in tourism and hospitality. She champions exemplary customer experience delivery and has a keen appreciation for the economic and social value of the Australian food, wine, and tourism sectors having judged various industry awards over multiple years.

Amanda has been directly involved in the South Australian Tourism Awards (SATA) on various levels for over 10 years and joined the Australian Tourism Awards (ATA) judging panel in 2021. She has mentored many SATA entrants to success, including Hall of Fame status and progression to the national level of the awards.

Jayne Symons

Jayne has over 20 years’ experience in the tourism and event sectors and has been involved with the SA tourism awards for 5 years. Jayne has held leaderships positions with APT, Topdeck and Connections in sales and business development across retail, wholesale, training and operations. Previously the Sales Manager for Adelaide Showground and the Royal Adelaide Show, Jayne now works as the Communications and Engagement Director at Cornerstone College and is responsible for the strategic planning, outworking and delivery of marketing, communications, brand and risk management. Jayne has extensive experience in brand strategy and development and is a customer experience advocate.

Cindy Jackway

Cindy has extensive experience working with businesses from a vast array of sizes and industries across the state in her current role at Business SA. With a strong sales and marketing background, she also has a great understanding of the need for compliance in work health and safety, workplace relations and generally providing solutions to maximise business potential. With a noteworthy background in tourism prior to her current career, Cindy enjoyed a successful 10- year career in key management and leadership roles within the adventure tourism industry which was flamed by a personal passion for travel.

Cindy has been involved with the SA Judging Panel for the last 11 years and has served two three-year terms on the National Judging Panel.

Debra Long

Debra is co-owner of Kelly Sports Adelaide Metro which are the leading provider of sports programs, family-friendly events and team-building activities. Debra’s role as Kelly Sports Adelaide Metro Business Director includes strategy, leadership, financial management, HR, compliance and business development. Prior to her business ownership, Debra had an impressive background in banking and finance where she enjoyed a highly successful 29-year career in key senior management and leadership roles within the Westpac Group. A former Entrepreneurs Program Director for one of SA’s premier professional development and mentoring companies Behind Closed Doors, Debra is passionate about helping other business owners achieve success in their business ventures. Financially astute and commercially savvy, Debra offers a wealth of experience in business development, finance, event management, relationship portfolio management and also understands the challenges of operating a small business. A passionate and loyal South Australian, Debra has been on the judging panel of the SA Tourism Awards for the past 12 years.

Victoria

Stuart Toplis

Stuart Toplis has considerable travel and tourism industry experience, particularly in the areas of regional tourism, sustainable tourism, and crisis management. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy and specialises in sustainable tourism.

Stuart currently works for the Victorian Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR), in the role of Manager Industry Support within the Tourism & Events group. He has responsibility for several industry development matters, including sustainable tourism, tourism signing, tourism health & safety, and crisis management. As a key part of his role, Stuart works closely with senior personnel of Victoria’s emergency services agencies and represents the tourism industry on several crisis-related committees, including the State Emergency Management Team.

Stuart has been a Victorian Tourism Awards judge for over a decade as well as supporting the delivery of the awards program through his role at DJPR.

Alison McDowell

Alison McDowell is a strategic marketer and proven brand builder with a focus on establishing strong, meaningful, and lasting relationships between organizations and their customers.

Before founding her own business, Roadmap Strategy, Alison had a successful career in tourism marketing, strategy, and membership at prominent tourism organizations such as BIG4 Holiday Parks, Hertz, RACV, and Zoos Victoria.

Further leveraging her passion for tourism and the importance of holidays, Alison serves as a non-executive director for The Otis Foundation, providing people living with breast cancer retreats to help them to escape the routine of day-to-day life to relax, recharge, and reconnect with loved ones.

In addition, Alison is a founder of Live Love Work Port Phillip, an initiative that works to shine a light on City of Port Phillip while connecting, supporting, and cultivate relationships among people who live, love, work, and run businesses in this Melbourne council precinct.

A judge for Victorian Tourism Awards for eight years, and with a Master of Commerce (Marketing) and a Graduate Certificate in Competitive Systems and Practices (LEAN), Alison is committed to continuous learning, self-improvement, and giving back.

Olga Junek

After an early career in the tourism and hospitality industry as well as many years in education, Olga has been an academic in the tertiary sector for the last 20 years. Teaching students about tourism, Olga draws on her industry experience, academic and industry research, and her strong engagement with the tourism and events industry. Her research has focused on international students and their leisure and travel experiences, the Chinese tourist market and graduate skills and their relevance to the tourism and events industry. Formerly a lecturer at Victoria University where she is still an Honorary Fellow, Olga now teaches regularly at the Munich University of Applied Sciences in Germany. Besides her passion for teaching Olga loves to travel, which she combines with her overseas teaching.
Being part of the Victoria University team applying for the Victorian Tourism Award for the Education and Training category has provided her with a good understanding of the nature and complexity of being an applicant (and winner) in the Victorian Tourism Awards.

Kathryn MacKenzie OAM

Kathryn has spent her working life developing Regional Victoria’s tourism industry and creating new opportunities for regional tourism to thrive.

Kathryn Has held a number of roles throughout regional Victoria culminating in her current role with the Victorian Tourism Industry Council. Prior to this role, Kathryn spent 5 years with Echuca Moama Tourism as CEO and over 20 years realizing the potential of Bendigo and the Goldfields region. In 2016, Kathryn was awarded the State Award for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism as an individual; in 2017 Bendigo Tourism created a new industry award in Kathryn’s name for Outstanding Contribution by an individual to the Bendigo Tourism Industry and in 2021 Kathryn was awarded the Order of Australia for her work in regional tourism.

Tasmania

Megan Tighe

Megan began her policy career as Policy & Communications for Tourism Industry Council Tasmania and has remained passionate about supporting the Tasmanian tourism industry and local economic development ever since. Megan has continued her involvement in the tourism industry through some freelance projects, judging in the Tasmanian tourism awards, and editing some winning award submissions. Megan takes a keen interest in accessibility and inclusion, as well as environmental sustainability; she brings experience from working at Equal Opportunity Tasmania (the office of the anti-Discrimination Commissioner), and she has led or supported a range of workplace initiatives with different organisations. She is currently working as a Senior Policy Analyst in the tourism-adjacent field of Transport Systems and Planning Policy at the Department of State Growth (Tasmania) and is also completing a PhD at the University of Tasmania.

Sam Denmead

A true Tasmanian, Sam’s roots in the Tasmanian tourism industry run deep, with more than 25 years of experience. Her current role as Industry Manager at Tourism Tasmania follows a diverse journey that included founding a pioneering cycle tour operation, offering her expertise as a Tourism and Marketing consultant, and contributing to various initiatives and events.

Proud recipient of the Premier's Award for Young Achiever at the Tasmanian Tourism Awards and the Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year for Tasmania, her contributions also include the development of the Tassie Tourism Ambassador program, the Talking Tourism podcast, the Bike Friendly Accreditation Program. Sam has been involved in the Tasmanian Tourism Awards in many varied roles for over 10 years including judging the National Tourism Awards and Top Tourism Town award.

Her academic journey includes a postgraduate certificate in tourism, environment, and cultural heritage, as well as a bachelor's degree in marketing and management from the University of Tasmania.

Natalie Ellis

Natalie is a very proud, born and bred Tasmanian. Natalie began her career in the tourism industry nearly eleven years ago with Tourism Tasmania. During her time at Tourism Tasmania, Natalie worked across the agency in a variety of roles including within the Industry & Partnerships team and Corporate Communications.

Last year, Natalie joined the Trade & International Relations team at Department of State Growth as the International Missions Planner, where her passion and experience for showcasing and connecting Tasmanian businesses to the world will be at the forefront. Along with building the success of local businesses that contribute towards the benefit of the community, Tasmania has always been the leading star of Natalie’s career.

Lisa Punshon

Lisa’s professional background includes management roles at both a state and local government level, private industry and with not for profits. The core focus of her roles has consistently been the development of programs and projects that support businesses in the tourism, hospitality and retail industries. Passionate about working with tourism and hospitality businesses and with government to develop the talent and skills needed for sustainable and responsible growth, Lisa is driven by the desire to influence and navigate all levels of government on behalf of industry with the belief that this will lead to greater opportunity for individuals, industry businesses and the broader Tasmanian community.

Western Australia

Julian Barry

Julian Barry has worked in the tourism industry for over 30 years, predominantly in aviation and tourism development, along with the caravan and camping industry. He has previously been a state judge for both the WA Tourism Awards and the NT Tourism Awards (the Brolgas), and has also been a national judge for the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards. Julian is currently the General Manager Commercial for Airnorth, based in Perth, and holds an MBA with majors in marketing and international business.

Paul Grootveld

Paul has been involved in the tourism industry in Perth for more than 30 years. Highlights of his career includes the successful management buy-out of Adventure World in 1990, being a founding Board member of the Australian Amusement, Leisure & Recreation Association, a past Chairman of the Association of Perth Attractions and a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Tourism Committee. Paul also chaired the South West Tourism Marketing Committee. After obtaining a Master of Business Degree from Murdoch University in 2000, he went on to manage Hotham Valley Tourist Railway before taking up the position as CEO of the Swan Bells Foundation in 2001. He retired in early 2013, but has continued to take a keen interest in the tourism industry.

Sally Pullin

Sally has a diverse background in tourism and hospitality over a 30 year career. After completing her Bachelor of Commerce (Marketing) degree, Sally's early career was spent working up the chain of the International Hotel sector through customer service, accommodation and conference sales management before moving to renown Melbourne caterer Peter Rowland Catering as a Group Venue Sales Manager. In 2007 Sally and her husband relocated to Albany to join her family's premium hosted accommodation business, The Beach House at Bayside, which was inducted into the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame in 2018.

Sally has contributed periods as Board Director for both Australia's South West Regional Tourism Organisation and the Tourism council of WA and has a passion for ensuring invested micro business operators have access to industry resources and an industry voice.

Scott Fleming

Scott has over 20 years’ experience working in a variety of management roles within the hospitality, travel and tourism industries - working across government and private enterprise, in Australia and overseas.

As an accomplished tourism awards judge, with both the Western Australian Tourism Awards and the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, Scott has a deep understanding of what it takes to manage businesses and their people to deliver an exceptional customer experience.

Scott currently leads one of Australia’s most successful and awarded tourism teams.

meet the Judges