Media Release - SA Government
http://www.premier.sa.gov.au/images/sto ... maward.pdf
TOUR DOWN UNDER WINS NATIONAL TOURISM AWARD
Santos Tour Down Under has been named the country’s best major festival and event, for the
second year in a row, at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.
The 2010 event, held from 17-24 January, 2010, won the Major Festivals and Events category at the
national awards ceremony in Perth, last night.
The 2010 Santos Tour Down Under attracted record crowds, visitor numbers and income for the
South Australian economy
Premier Mike Rann said the award was a fantastic achievement and recognised the huge growth of
the event since its inception in 1999.
“The Santos Tour Down Under has grown to become the biggest sporting event staged in South
Australia. Last year’s Tour attracted 770,500 spectators, including thousands of interstate and
overseas visitors, who helped inject $41.5 million into the South Australian economy,” he said.
Mr Rann said the Tour beat strong competition from other events, including Sydney New Year’s Eve
and the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, for the title.
It is the third award for the 2010 Santos Tour Down Under, with the event also winning:
• Australian Event Awards – Best Tourism Event (October 2010)
• South Australian Tourism Awards – Major Festivals and Events category (November 2010)
• Safe Work SA “Best Public Event Safety” award (October 2010)
“It is a fantastic achievement and recognises the hard work of everyone involved who make the
event such a success each year,” he said.
“The Santos Tour Down Under continues to go from strength to strength, with preliminary results
revealing record crowds of 772,000 people enjoyed the 2011 event, held this year from January 16 to
23.”
The 2010 Santos Tour Down Under was full of many highlights, including Andre Greipel winning
the Overall Santos Ochre Winner’s Jersey, Lance Armstrong debuting his team RadioShack and
world champion Cadel Evans wearing his rainbow jersey, for the first time, with his new team BMC
Racing Team. “The Santos Tour Down Under is the first event of the year on the UCI WorldTour calendar and
continues to grow in popularity with interstate and overseas visitors. It also continues to attract the
world’s best riders who look forward to the race and the chance to battle it out for the Overall
Santos Ochre Winner’s Jersey.”
The 2010 Santos Tour Down Under beat entries from Floriade – Mind, Body and Soul (ACT),
Sydney New Year’s Eve (NSW), Gold Coast Airport Marathon (QLD), Melbourne Food and Wine
Festival (VIC) and Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association – Cow Parade (WA), for the title.
For more information on the Santos Tour Down Under, visit
www.tourdownunder.com.au