By DANE LILLINGSTONE
LOCAL attraction Lawdogs will be competing for a top tourism award next month.
Stanthorpe’s Lawdogs Australia will join five other Southern Queensland region tourism operators at this year’s annual Queensland Tourism Awards, hosted by the Queensland Tourism Industry Council (QTIC).
Lawdogs will up for the Tourist Attractions category and is one of 156 entries in the Queensland Tourism Awards.
Established in 2011, Lawdogs Australia’s ‘A Dog Show with Bite’ is a working dog kennel open to the public offering a one-hour live show of canine law enforcement demonstrations and training in areas of protection, detection, agility and obedience.
Lawdogs Australia owner and operator Matt Hibberd said the business had evolved steadily over the past few years.
“We aim to educate the public on what goes into service dog training through an entertaining show which encourages the audience to get involved and share in their training journey,” Mr Hibbert said.
“Visitors have the unique opportunity to get up close and personal with our detection dogs by hiding training packages and then watching as they find and indicate where it is hidden.
“The last two years has seen ‘A Dog Show with Bite’ evolve into a successful product for the business and we are focused on growing the business and its services to ensure its long-term viability and increase tourism for the local area.”
This will be the first year they have entered the awards and said they would go a long way for recognition in the tourism industry.
“The process of compiling and writing a submission, combined with the judges’ site visit, are great for self-evaluation of the business,” he said.
“We aim to highlight the uniqueness and value of our show and will hopefully be rewarded through the Queensland Tourism Awards program.
The Queensland Tourism Awards are hosted by Queensland Tourism Industry Council and presented in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland and the Queensland Government.
According to the awards, tourism in Queensland contributes $23 billion to the economy and employs 241,000 people.
