Excitement is building to the 2018 Fraser Coast Business and Tourism Awards with judges today announcing the finalists in each of the 22 categories.

The number of entries is up 34% this year with very strong competition in each category.

The number of overnight visitors to the Fraser Coast from Australian domestic markets has maintained the momentum of recent surveys with a record number of leisure visitors to the region in the year to June 2018.

The total number of tourists calling at visitor centres in Maryborough and Hervey Bay in the months of July and August 2018 is a record for the region and 21% above the five-year average.

Get ready with digital and trade upskilling opportunities

A visit to Fraser Island by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is recognition of the island’s importance as one of the most beautiful natural environments in the world and the trip will inspire more international tourists to come and see for themselves.

Competition is heating up in this year’s Queensland Tourism Awards, hosted by the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC), as some of Fraser Coast’s favourite tourism operators compete for gold.

The Fraser Coast’s amazing natural attractions will feature in travel stories that may reach more than 1 million Europeans following a visit by eight German-speaking journalists.

After five years on the Fraser Coast, firstly with the council, then Fraser Coast Opportunities and more recently as Tourism Director with Fraser Coast Tourism & Events, Brad Nardi, is moving back to northern New South Wales to head the new destination marketing agency for the Tweed Shire.

Dates for the 2019 World Whale Conference and Whale Heritage Sites Summit have been announced with the events running across October 7 to 11 in Hervey Bay.

The fibreglass shark sculpture from the former Vic Hislop’s Shark Show is on the move again – this time as part of the Hervey Bay Historical Village & Museum’s entry in the whale parade on August 18.