Ocean Rafting won gold at the Queensland Tourism Awards in Brisbane on Friday night, winning the award for Major Tour and Transport Operator. The win follows recent success at the Whitsunday Tourism Awards, where Ocean Rafting won gold in the same category.
Owners Peter and Jan Claxton, who attended the awards ceremony, spoke proudly of their win. “We are just so happy to win this award as it reflects such a huge achievement. We have grown so much that we now have to enter the “Major” category. With two brand new custom built boats joining the fleet in the last 18 months, it has been a big period of growth operationally. It is extremely rewarding and the industry is so positive in general, so there are many more exciting times ahead,” said Jan.
“The Whitsundays just did so well overall at the Queensland Tourism Awards and we are extremely proud to be a part of such a strong Whitsunday contingent, with the region taking home four Gold, four Silver and three Bronze awards in total. We pass on our congratulations to all the other winners and must make a special mention to our amazing staff, who are the heart and soul of our business. We also extend a huge thank you to all of our guests, agents and industry partners,” said Jan.
As passionate ambassadors for the Whitsunday region Jan went on to say, “We will continue to work hard in promoting and protecting this wonderful region and in developing our operations to offer the most memorable experience for our guests.”
Peter and Jan also own sister company Ocean Safari, based in Cape Tribulation, which came home with a bronze award in The Steve Irwin Award for Ecotourism category. “It was a very special experience to come home with two awards at Queensland level,” said Jan.
Ocean Rafting will now automatically be entered in the Australian Tourism Awards due to be held in Darwin in February.
Peter and Jan Claxon have owned Ocean Rafting since 2001, operating a fleet of six vessels and two exciting day tour options to some of the Whitsunday’s most desirable destinations, including Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet.
