Noosa based eco-tourism operator The Discovery Group celebrated last night as they joined the elite of Queensland’s tourism industry by being inducted into the Queensland Tourism Awards Hall of Fame.

The Discovery Group which offers premium 4WD discovery tours to World Heritage Listed Fraser Island and wilderness river cruises to the Noosa Everglades, won the tour and transport operators award for the third year in a row at the annual Queensland Tourism Awards held last night at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

“We are thrilled to receive this accolade which reflects our team’s commitment to deliver tourism excellence and provide our guests with uniquely Australian experiences through some of the most magnificent landscapes and waterways in Australia” said Mr. Wade Batty, group managing director of The Discovery Group.

“This year we continued to evolve our business model and announced a number of exciting new initiatives including further expansion of our fleet, enhancements to our website and reservations system as well as introducing new holiday package experiences” said Mr. Batty.

Guests were welcomed to the awards ceremony by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh who invited the State’s tourism industry to join her in acknowledging this year’s winners, singled out by their peers as the benchmark for best practice across the State.

Since The Discovery Groups’ inception in 2003, when proprietors Wade & Kelly Batty relocated from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast leaving behind their respective careers in construction and beauty to pursue their dream, The Discovery Group has flourished and today operates the brands Fraser Island Discovery and Noosa Everglades Discovery.

The Company’s passion for the Noosa Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Listed Fraser Island, coupled with a strong desire to showcase the very best of the region’s natural and cultural assets to visitors from around the world has paved the way to their resounding success.

The Discovery Group previously won the 2008 Australian National Tourism Awards and will now go on to contest in the tour and transport operator category at the 2010 Australian National Awards Ceremony to be held in Perth on 11 March 2011.