Airlie Beach Wins Top Small Tourism Town 2023 Bowen Welcomes Defence Force Training Exercise

Airlie Beach has been awarded the Top Small Tourism Town for 2023, by the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC).

The annual awards recognise stand-out Queensland holiday destinations with great commitment to visitor excellence.

Bowen was also a finalist for the highly competitive category of Top Tourism Town, going up against Bundaberg, Rockhampton, and Redcliffe.

Unfortunately, it did not win on this occasion.

Airlie Beach was up against the likes of Ingham in far north Queensland and took home the top gong for the second year in a row.

Tourism Whitsundays Chief Executive Officer, Rick Hamilton said taking out the award again proves that Airlie Beach has remained a favourite for Aussies travelling to the State.

“The Whitsundays is the most tourism-reliant region in Queensland with one in three jobs directly related to tourism,” he said.

“Winning this award again is a feather in The Whitsundays’ cap and hugely encouraging to the tourism industry.”

Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor, Julie Hall, said the award was excellent news for Airlie Beach and the broader Whitsundays region.

“Tourism is one of the three key pillars for our regional economy and the win is just reward for the resilience and passion of our tourist operators and the leadership shown by Tourism Whitsundays (TW).

“Council are proud to be the major funding supporter for TW and look forward to partnering with them to continue promoting our Whitsunday region as Australia’s top tourism destination.”

“This is not only a win for Airlie Beach as best Small Tourism Town 2023 but a win for Proserpine, Bowen, Collinsville, our islands and everywhere in between who all offer such a diverse range of visitor experiences,” she said.

From June 14 to August 16, parts of Kings Beach and access roads will be temporarily closed as the Department of Defence undertake their Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 training exercise.

This will be the largest iteration of the exercise to date, and will include field training exercise, preparation activities, amphibious landing, ground manoeuvres and air combat.

This is an international exercise, with participants travelling from 13 different nations, including France, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, Canada, and Germany. Representatives from Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines will attend as observ- ers.

The exercises will utilise Bowen’s Kings Beach for the duration of the period, with access closed, and other adjoining roads temporarily closed at points to allow vehicle movement.

Kings Beach from Sandhill Creek was closed from Wednesday June 14, 5pm and will open Wednesday August 16, 5am. Denison Park Botanical Gardens was closed, from Wednesday June 14, 5pm and due to reopen Wednesday August 16, 5am. Alongside Talisman Sabre 2023, the Defence Force will also conduct Exercise Sea Explorer 23 and Exercise Sea Raider 23.