Recently here in Mount Isa we have had a few award wins and have had the opportunity to compete against some of the big names in the state such as Kuranda and Australia zoo. Outback at Isa manager Angi Matveyeff spoke to us after getting back from a few weeks away at multiple award shows.
The first award show we attended was the EMO North West Business Awards.
“I haven't actually ever entered into the awards on behalf of the company, I think it's the first time MEITV has been entered into the local awards, from what I could see. So it was really nerve wracking actually, being judged by your peers. And it's very close to home.”
“We were up against some really substantial businesses. We got the Business Growth and Service Excellence. Getting both of those, I think is incredibly important for everyone that you work with to have that recognition, or even just to feel that you can enter an award whether or not you win.” It is excellent to see the tourism board doing well in town and it shows that the community is behind getting tourist into the town. And for the first time in entering into the awards we did very well to bring home 2 awards.
When talking about what winning truly meant to her and the company, Angi had this to say, “The winning is one thing but the learning process and the business development process going through awards keeps you sharp and makes you think about what you need to introduce next time.” She added “So I already know where the gaps are, so you know where you need to concentrate on for next time. That constant desire for improvement all the time, and growing you business. It's probably the only time i really stress, i can't seem to help it.”
MIETV also managed to bring home 2 awards at the Outback Queensland Tourism Awards. “We came home with winning the Destination Marketing Award which I was really surprised about because we were up against (again) some fairly substantial businesses. And then we also came home with the Visitor Information & Services, and that's was great. The visitor centres all in the outback have generally got product attached to them.” up against some of the best the Outback has to offer and bringing home 2 awards is a very important thing for not only us but the entire North West.
The Queensland Tourism Awards was a slightly different case but still a success for the town and the entirety of Outback Queensland. “ It's a much bigger playing field, and up against tougher competition. But I’ll find out and learn where we need to make those improvements.” Not a total loss for the town, because the Mount Isa Mines Rotary Rodeo came away with a Gold for Festivals and Events. Angi described the scene at the awards and it really shows that Outback Queensland is making leaps and bounds in tourism, “With the state awards we had several tables of outback participants, and this year is the first time that 60% of the awards went to the outback... I think there may have been 10 tables of outback and we all had cowbells. Every time the word outback was mentioned there was a big noise, so that was great and good fun. Not only does it elevate Mount Isa and the north west region but it elevates the whole of the outback as a concept and as a destination.”
Even if there is not much talk of outback tourism yet, it making huge waves within Australia. It will only continue to grow and keep building that momentum, pretty soon we will truly have Mount Isa and the rest of outback Queensland truly on the map. “I think that in particular Mount Isa and the northwest region has been a sleeping giant and its waking up and it wants to play.” Wiser words about Mount Isa and the region have not been spoken.
We are excited to see how we do in the awards next year and hope to bring home awards at the state level very soon!