A COONAWARRA business has been recognised for its efforts in the South Australian tourism industry.
Coonawarra Experiences owners Kerry and Simon Meares started their tour venture less than two years ago after seeing an opportunity to expand into the regional market while visiting the Limestone Coast from Melbourne.
The pair is now reaping the rewards of their success, celebrating a fourth placing at the statewide the 2019 South Australian Tourism Awards, in the category of Tour and Transport Operators.
The couple was pleased to be recognised at the awards, competing against large-scale tourism bodies across South Australia with almost 8000 votes counted across the competitors.
Ms Meares said the pair learnt a lot about themselves and reflected on what they have achieved with the business so far.
“We realised we have not been able to appreciate what we have achieved just yet because we have been particularly focused on the last financial year,” she said.
“It was also quite eye opening to see how much we have done in the time we have had.”
Ms Meares said future goals and aspirations were developed based around the business’ regional status.
“We do not have the same level of competition in the tourism industry here and we did go into the awards night being realistic that we would not come first,” Ms Meares said.
“We were up against some major companies, but seeing what they do and what we do showed us we both have different focus points and different areas where we wish to improve.
“We still felt like we did very well and we are proud of where we are at.”
The business owner said the nomination also increased the Limestone Coast tourism profile, allowing the business owners to hold a different view on the industry.
“Now we know what we are doing is on the right track and we have room to move and build we can see what we want to improve on,” she said.
“Over the next year we are looking to focus on regular work with charter companies and focus more on things such as high end packages rather than just day to day tours.
“We would also like to have an impact on visitations in the regions and work.”
