AAT gets Gold

Celebrating Gold in the 2026 Best of Queensland Experiences Program

At Whitsunday Shore Excursions, we are incredibly proud to celebrate our parent company, Airlie Adventure Tours, achieving Gold recognition in the 2026 Best of Queensland Experiences Program.

This recognition is a huge achievement not only for Airlie Adventure Tours, but also for the wider Whitsundays tourism industry and everyone involved in delivering exceptional visitor experiences throughout our region.

What is the Best of Queensland Experiences Program?

Led by Tourism and Events Queensland, the Best of Queensland Experiences Program recognises tourism operators that consistently deliver outstanding visitor experiences and meet high industry standards across every stage of the customer journey.

Operators are independently assessed across a range of areas, including:

• Customer reviews and satisfaction

• Online and digital presence

• Booking experience

• Sustainability practices

• Visitor experience delivery

• Industry best practice

From 2026, the program introduced three recognition levels:

• Best of Queensland Experience

• Silver

• Gold

Gold is the highest level of recognition within the program.

Why is this achievement important?

The Whitsundays are one of Australia’s most recognised tourism destinations, welcoming visitors from around the world to experience our islands, beaches, reef, wildlife, and natural beauty.

Programs like Best of Queensland play an important role in encouraging tourism operators to continually improve and maintain world-class standards across the industry.

For visitors, Gold recognition provides additional confidence when choosing tourism experiences in the Whitsundays. For operators, it reflects the hard work, passion, and dedication required to consistently deliver high-quality experiences.

A proud moment for Whitsunday Shore Excursions

As the cruise ship and shore excursion division operated by Airlie Adventure Tours, we are extremely proud to be part of this journey.

Airlie Adventure Tours has grown rapidly over the past two years while remaining committed to authentic local experiences, sustainability, exceptional customer service, and showcasing the mainland beauty of the Whitsundays.

This Gold recognition reflects the incredible work of the entire team and reinforces the high standards and quality experiences we strive to deliver to cruise ship guests visiting our region.

We would like to congratulate the entire Airlie Adventure Tours team on this fantastic achievement and thank all guests, industry partners, and supporters who have helped make it possible.

We are excited to continue welcoming cruise ship visitors to the Whitsundays and sharing our beautiful region with guests from around the world.

Check them out www.airlieadventuretours.com.au