Newcastle Tourism Industry Group's (NTIG) 2025 Newcastle Hospitality & Tourism Awards were held on 19 May at Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, recognising excellence across 12 categories.

"It has truly been a massive, thrilling night for our industry," NTIG chair and CoastXP founder Dominic May (above) said.

"It is such a privilege to be able to showcase the versatility of this vibrant industry and the commitment and excellence of all our finalists and, of course, our award winners.

The winners were:

  • Industry Support Partner of the Year: Hunt Hospitality
  • Inclusive Tourism & Hospitality Operator: Bernie's Bar
  • Best New Visitor Economy Business: Newy Tour Co.
  • Best Tourism Experience: Moonshadow Cruises
  • Best Event or Festival of the Year: Newcastle Food Month, Newcastle Events
  • Culinary Excellence: Humbug
  • Outstanding Accommodation Provider: Quest Apartments Newcastle & Newcastle West
  • Emerging Hospitality & Tourism Leader: Keira Bourke, Newy Tour Co.
  • Customer Service Champion: James Camarsh, Quest Newcastle West
  • Employer of the Year: Rydges Newcastle
  • Employee of the Year: Zoe Tuilotolava, Hunt Hospitality
  • Industry Leader of the Year: Paul O'Rourke, Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club

Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp attended the awards and highlighted the valuable economic contribution of the sector.

He said the NSW Government had a laser focus on initiatives to evolve the state's visitor economy strategy, including investment in infrastructure and marketing campaigns, attracting major events and supporting the night-time economy.

“NSW has celebrated another record-breaking year for its visitor economy, with total visitor expenditure reaching a record-breaking $53.2 billion in 2024,” he said.

“Newcastle and the Hunter region make up a significant portion of this, with $4.3 billion in visitor expenditure in 2024.

“The Hunter welcomed more than 11 million visitors last year. That’s 11 million people whose trips were impacted by the outstanding people in this room tonight.

“The NSW Government, via its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, has ambitious plans to drive that economic growth to even greater heights.”

Photography: Magnetic Shots