Yarra Valley Estate is a diverse, purpose built venue which sits at the foothills of the Great Diving Range in the Yarra Valley. With 4 separate conference rooms & 48 rooms of onsite accommodation, YVE is more than just a business event centre, they also host weddings and private events.
Customer service excellence & sustainability are both core values for this venue which prides itself on achieving both. The 120-acre property takes a holistic approach in terms of natural habitat & wildlife protection. They grow their own vegetables, are water independent & source produce and staff locally.
On Monday night (16th November), the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards were announced at the industry’s ‘night of nights’, the annual Gala Ceremony at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, where around 1000 people from across the state gathered to hear the announcements.
Yarra Valley Estate entered 2 categories, ‘Business Event Venues’ and ‘Qantas Award for Excellence in Sustainable Tourism’. Submissions had been sent, judges had visited the site to review the documentation and the atmosphere at the gala was electric!
Louise Ward, owner of Yarra Valley Estate proudly accepted the Gold Winner trophies for both entries! “I can’t believe it, I never hoped nor dreamed that we would receive not 1 but 2 beautiful trophies. These recognise our ongoing commitment to customer service and sustainability” Louise said. “It goes to show that a small business with a dedicated and loyal team can be recognised, it’s very encouraging.”
For over 30 years the Victorian Tourism Awards have showcased and recognised the state’s leaders in tourism excellence. The Awards encourage businesses to meet and strive to exceed industry standards. The awards play an integral role in rewarding business excellence, innovation, industry professionalism, collaboration and initiative.
In 2015, the tradition to recognise excellence continued, with over 100 entries submitted across 32 categories. By entering the program, businesses and individuals show strong commitment to the pursuit of tourism excellence.
[/textblock][/one_half][one_half last=”1″ spacing=”1″ center_content=”0″ hide_on_mobile=”0″ padding=”” margin=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” border_style=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_radius=”” animateit=”” duration=”” delay=”” offset=”” iteration=”” hoverit=”” decoration_color=”” class=””][textblock font_family=”” font_color=”” font_size=”” font_lh=”” margin=”” padding=”” border_style=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_radius=”” background_color=”” background_image=”” class=””]Category and criteria for the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards is set by National Tourism Alliance (NTA) for all States and Territories. Winners automatically progress for judging at a national level at the annual Qantas Australian Tourism Awards. The host location for this event rotates throughout Australia with Melbourne hosting the ceremony in February 2016.
Yarra Valley Estate would also like to congratulate another Yarra Valley winner ‘Global Ballooning’ who took out the Gold trophy for best ‘Tour & Transport Operator’, a hotly contested category. Also based in Dixons Creek, Kiff Saunders, Director & chief pilot of Global Balloon was there on the night to celebrate their success.
This is a year has been a year of awards for Yarra Valley Estate who have also been awarded the UNAA Sustainability Award for Small-Medium business’ in June and the Victorian Premiers Sustainability Award a few weeks ago.
Our current projects include building a 1 acre Edible Forest which will supply our kitchen with the freshest of ingredients to serve to our guests. We will also be conducting educational edible tours of the property.