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Busselton Jetty, located in Western Australia’s famed Margaret River region, was the big winner at the Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards on Saturday night, taking out the prestigious Sir David Brand Award.

The popular tourist attraction also won gold in the Major Tourist Attractions and Ecotourism categories.

Recognised for its ‘continuous innovation and commitment to constant development’, the 154-year old heritage-listed Busselton Jetty extends 1.8 kilometres over Geographe Bay, and is the longest tourist jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. Visitors can experience the onsite Interpretive Centre, ride the solar powered electric train and with an underwater observatory at the end of the jetty (one of only six in the world), visitors can descend eight metres underwater to view marine life beneath the jetty.

And in 2020, accessing the jetty and the Margaret River region will be easier for visitors from Australia’s eastern seaboard, with Jetstar flying direct from Melbourne to the Busselton-Margaret River Airport.

Several tourism operators were inducted into the Hall of Fame after each winning gold in their categories over the past three years – Sandalford Wines in Perth’s Swan Valley; Beach House at Bayside in Albany and Mandurah Crab Fest.

Other operators receiving multiple awards included Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures who took out two gold awards – Tourist Attractions and Unique Accommodation, while Sandalford Wines also won gold in two categories – Excellence in Chinese Tourism and Tourism Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries, and Pullman Bunker Bay won gold for Luxury Accommodation and Business Event Venues.

There was a record number of entries in the awards this year, with more than 150 Western Australia tourism businesses vying for gold, silver and bronze medals across 31 award categories.

The gold medallists in categories 1 to 25 will go on to represent WA at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, held in Canberra on Friday March 6, 2020.