20/11/00
Quality of food, service and restaurant ambience were rewarded tonight when Tourism Minister Norman Moore presented the 2000 Gold Plate Awards at the Burswood Showroom.
Mr Moore took the opportunity at the Catering Institute’s annual awards function to highlight the importance of the restaurant and hospitality industry to tourism in Western Australia.
“The restaurant and hospitality industry is a critical component of the tourism industry,” he said.
"It plays an important part in making tourism one of the State’s most valuable industries.
“The future for WA tourism is bright, with highly-successful publicity campaigns increasing the numbers of visitors to the State and improving the opportunities for business.
“More visitors will mean more people eating at more restaurants more often and more jobs in your industry.”
Mr Moore said that as the cultural experience became an increasingly important part of visitor expectation, restaurants played a crucial role in ensuring our visitors had a satisfying experience.
“In an increasingly competitive and dynamic global tourism environment, where potential tourism consumers and existing visitors are now better educated and informed, there is a need to differentiate destination marketing effort, to match tourism supply to demand, and to match visitor experience to expectation,” he said.
“I am delighted therefore, to see the Gold Plate Awards reward those restaurants which have achieved excellence in their field.
“Tourism is a collection of many small businesses and it is essential that these businesses work in co-operation and strive for excellence.
“We are committed to building a skilled and productive workforce as well as encouraging investment in tourism."
Mr Moore said he encouraged younger professionals moving up through hospitality ranks to embrace the prestige of the Gold Plate Awards to benefit both their personal goals and the State's reputation as a great place to dine.
Media contact: Hartley Joynt, Minister’s office 9321 1444
