The Kimberley sweeps up at tourism awards

The Cable Beach Club Resort and Spa took out the top gong in the State Government tourism awards on Saturday night.

And Broome-based Australia's North West Tourism won the Destination Marketing category for its Characters of the Kimberley advertising campaign.

Acting Tourism Minister John Day said the Sir David Brand Award was considered the pinnacle of the WA tourism industry and he congratulated the world-class resort for taking out the honour.

He said that after 26 years, the resort was still at the top of its game - taking out the top award at the 2014 Perth Airport Western Australian Tourism Awards.

"Cable Beach Club Resort and Spa is one of the most recognised tourism attractions in Broome, developed in 1988 by the late Lord Alistair McAlpine, who played a significant role in the town's tourism boom," Mr Day said.

"The property has now established itself at the top of a very competitive local, national and even international market and it is great to see the resort recognised for its important role in tourism."

There were 77 winners at the 2014 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards, which are organised by Tourism Council WA and supported by the State Government, through Tourism WA

Rottnest Island won the Major Tourist Attractions award.

Other winners included:

2014 Drug Aware Margaret River Pro - Major Festivals and Events

Vino Foods - The Lake House Denmark - Excellence in Food Tourism

Destination Marketing - Australia's North West Tourism: Characters of the Kimberley

Koomal Dreaming - Indigenous Tourism

Jeff Hayley (Triple J Tours) - Sir David Brand Medal.

Mr Day said the awards recognised and celebrated excellence in the tourism industry and he thanked all the category winners and finalists for helping attract visitors to WA and ensuring they had a great time.

"Tourism is big business in WA - generating about 91,000 jobs and contributing $8.3 billion in visitor spend to the economy," he said.

"The State Government has a strategy in place to see that figure grow to $12 billion by 2020."

For a full list of winners, visit http://www.tourismcouncilwa.com.au/