Australia Zoo and Bindi Irwin recognised at Queensland Tourism Awards

It was a successful night for the Australia Zoo family at the Queensland Tourism Awards on Friday, with Australia Zoo winning the Gold award for -Major Tourist Attraction' and Bindi Irwin taking home the -Young Achiever' award.

The awards recognise the outstanding achievements of tourism operators across the state of Queensland, with Australia Zoo taking out the top prize in recognition of their tourism excellence and Bindi winning for her contribution to the development of a vibrant and professional tourism industry.

'We're so proud of this achievement. It's such an honour to win and be recognised as Queensland's top tourist attraction," said Australia Zoo Director, Wes Mannion, as he accepted both the Zoo and Bindi's awards in front of the 900 guests who gathered to celebrate Queensland's tourism achievements. 

While Bindi couldn't be there to personally accept the award, she did send a warm thank you from the USA where she's currently working on ABC's Dancing with the Stars season 21; promoting all things conservation and Queensland.

'To be given the -Young Achiever' award is such a blessing and I'm extremely grateful."

I've dedicated my life to making a difference in this world and being the change I wish to see. As I get older, I want to continue to do my very best to affect others and create positive change," said Bindi.

This is the second -Young Achiever' award Bindi has won this year, winning the 2015 Premier's Sustainability -Young Achiever' award earlier this month. Australia Zoo also took home the -Tourism Attraction' award at the 2015 Sunshine Coast Business Awards last weekend.

These achievements mark an exciting year for both the Irwin family and Zoo crew, with Bindi dancing her way to the semi-finals of DWTS. Bindi, Terri and Robert are looking forward to arriving home next month to celebrate the year's achievements together with the rest of the Zoo family.