The judging panel for the 2024 Tasmanian Tourism Awards was made up of respected and experienced members of tourism or associated industries. They all volunteered a significant amount of their own time to judge entries and provide entrants with detailed and carefully thought-out feedback.

The judging team was led by the Chair of Judges, whose role was to facilitate and moderate the judging process.

Vin Barron - Chair of Judges

With more than 30 years’ experience in the tourism industry, Vin has held a number of directorship roles, including on the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania board for 18 years.

Vin held the position of Executive Director of the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce for eight years, the Chief Executive of the Tasmanian Convention Bureau for 15 years, the National President of the Association of Australian Convention Bureau for two years, and he was the founding Chairman and board member of Destination Southern Tasmania for eight years.

In 2017, Vin was inducted into the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux Hall of Fame, recognising his significant contribution to the advancement of the business events industry.

Vin has considerable experience with the Tasmanian Tourism Awards judging process, having served as the Chair of Judges in 2022 and both a submission judge and a site review judge for six years.

Ingrid Andersen

Ingrid Andersen is the Skills Tasmania Industry Partnership Manager for Tourism & Hospitality, among other sectors.

Her position sits within the business and jobs branch of the Department of State Growth, and involves key identification of training requirements for workforce development, developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, and progressing the government’s industry skills compacts, among other responsibilities.

Ingrid is a multi-year Tourism Awards Judge, and is dedicated to supporting and encouraging Tasmanian tourism and hospitality business to achieve longevity and success.

Allison Anderson

Alli is the principal consultant at episteme, a consultancy she founded to build connections between intuition and data to produce great strategy. She works with clients across Australia, New Zealand and globally to help them think differently about how to achieve the best outcomes for their places and people through tourism. She started out in Tasmania some years ago working as a consultant and was one of the first recipients of the Harry Holgate Fellowship from TICT and Tourism Tasmania.

She has a PhD in designing places for tourists and a Masters in Urban & Regional Planning. Previously the Head of Research & Insights at Tourism Tasmania, she is super passionate about tourism in Tasmania and loves working with her Tassie clients. She is currently Chair of the Northern Tasmania Development Corporation, Deputy Chair of East Coast Tourism Tasmania, and a member of the National Parks and Wildlife Advisory Council.

Cat Carey

Cat is a passionate advocate for tourism with over 25 years of experience in both the commercial and government sectors.

From tour guide to tour operations, ITO and DMCs, developing product and visitor experiences, contracting, management and strategy development - Cat has covered multiple areas in her career and become an inbound and international specialist.

Her most recent role at Tourism Tasmania helped lift Tasmania's awareness globally as a sought-after premium destination. As Founder of Think Tourism, Cat brings these insights, support and development directly to operators and associations to continue to strive for exceptional tourism experiences and successful business outcomes.

Mette Dawe

Originally from Denmark, Mette has a background in Event Management organising events ranging from bespoke Tour de France VIP events to large corporate events and private functions.

Since first arriving in Tasmania in 2006, Mette has worked in hospitality, as a bushwalking guide, and as an Outdoor Instructor. This led to her completing a MSc in Outdoor Environmental and Sustainability Education from Edinburgh University and working as an Outdoor Education Facilitator in both Tasmania and in the Scottish Highlands.

In recent years Mette has worked within the Tasmanian tourism industry, spreading the word about the wonders of our island state through her work at the Tasmanian Travel and Information Centre, Tourism Tasmania and currently at Events Tasmania.

Sam Denmead

A true Tasmanian, Sam’s roots in the Tasmanian tourism industry run deep, with more than 25 years of experience. Her current role as Industry Manager at Tourism Tasmania follows a diverse journey that included founding a pioneering cycle tour operation, offering her expertise as a Tourism and Marketing consultant, and contributing to various initiatives and events.

Proud recipient of the Premier's Award for Young Achiever at the Tasmanian Tourism Awards and the Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year for Tasmania, her contributions also include the development of the Tassie Tourism Ambassador program, the Talking Tourism podcast, the Bike Friendly Accreditation Program. Sam has been involved in the Tasmanian Tourism Awards in many varied roles for over 10 years including judging the National Tourism Awards and Top Tourism Town award.

Her academic journey includes a postgraduate certificate in tourism, environment, and cultural heritage, as well as a bachelor's degree in marketing and management from the University of Tasmania.

Paul Fleming

Well respected in the tourism industry and with extensive knowledge of the visitor economy, Paul’s career path is a meandering journey of specialist tourism research roles and insight generation, through to a leader in social media influence and a published author of his own creative expressions.

Regardless of where he has been on his professional path, Tasmania has always been at the heart of Paul’s work. Working in tourism allows him to channel his passions for the island, research and knowledge into actionable insights for marketing, industry and strategy that ultimately build towards benefiting the Tasmanian community.

Paul is currently the Research and Insights Specialist at Tourism Tasmania.

Emily Hopwood

Emily is a born and bred Tasmanian and started her career in hospitality and tourism at Hadley’s Hotel before relocating to Melbourne to work at the Hotel Windsor. Spending a decade in Victoria, she worked her way into hotel management, before taking on the role of Regional Revenue Manager for Mantra Group. Over several years, Emily revenue managed sixteen properties across Victoria and Tasmania, before the call of home grew strong, and she returned with a young family in tow.

Since returning home, Emily has enjoyed roles with Tourism Tasmania, RACT Destinations and West Coast Wilderness Railway. Emily recently joined the Business Events Tasmania team as Head of Marketing and Operations, Emily also represents Women in Tourism and Hospitality Tasmania (WITH Tas) on the TICT board.

When not working, Emily enjoys travelling with her family, and tries to mountain bike and grow vegetables at home in New Town.

Toni Kibbey

Toni Kibbey is the Director of Element Consulting, a boutique strategic advisory firm based in Tasmania. From her roots in marketing campaigns, and business strategy, Toni and her team are dedicated to elevating the customer or internal experience across every touchpoint. With a firm 'human first' approach to all business challenges, they assist with corporate planning, marketing project management, and customer experience, along with coaching, mentoring and talent support in the strategy and marketing sectors.

Toni's background covers leadership roles at Aurora Energy, Lark Distillery and Tourism Tasmania, with clients over the past five years including Metro Tasmania, Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority, SFM, Department of State Growth, Hydro Tasmania, TasGas and more. Her personal passion is supporting young people to develop their careers and skillsets through human centric strategic thinking.

Sue Leake

With more than three decades working in the visitor economy, Sue has developed an unwavering passion for the tourism industry, shaping her skills, knowledge, and expertise.

Sue’s journey began as a young Uni student, in hospitality, progressing from family-owned restaurants to event operations and accommodation positions in independent and chain hotels. This immersion in customer-focused roles nurtured her love for people and the captivating world of tourism.

Serendipitously, Sue joined Qantas where she embarked on a remarkable 20-year tenure. Within the aviation industry, Sue navigated a dynamic landscape, spanning retail sales, corporate travel management, business and agency sales, inbound tourism, and tourism product management. Additionally, she gained experience guiding tour groups and famils. Woven into this time, Sue explored roles with renowned global corporate agencies like Carlson Wagonlit and ventured into small locally owned Tasmanian SMEs.

Returning to her local roots with RACT, she re-discovered the unique gem that is the Tasmanian experience. Realising its world-class potential, Sue became passionate about sharing this love for tourism in Tasmania. Consequently, returning to her teaching roots, Sue consciously pursued a career as a tourism educator, sharing her knowledge and hopefully inspiring the next wave of professionals to further our industry's achievements in this remarkable region.

Sue is currently at TasTAFE Drysdale teaching in tourism, travel and hospitality and events.

Paul McDonald

Paul entered the Tourism Industry out of a desire to travel, explore and protect wilderness areas. His career spans Sales, Marketing, Guest Experience and Technology, and he has been in senior leadership positions for the past decade. Paul is a Kiwi (don’t hold that against him) – he relocated with his young family to Tasmania during the pandemic, contributing to Tas Walking Co’s growth as Head of Commercial.

Now, Paul is a Senior Consultant for BAC, a digital transformation business and he also provides commercial consulting services to Iconic Walks, a tourism start-up based in Tasmania. He is a Director on the East Coast Tasmania Tourism Board and has degrees in Tourism and Physical Education. Always striving for a work-life balance, during his ‘down time’ you’ll likely find Paul out in the surf, hiking or hanging out with the family at a local park.

Kate Marsden

With 32 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Kate’s journey began as an eager 14-year-old in fast food. She worked in and managed multiple cafes owned by a coffee roaster in Sydney throughout university while studying a Bachelor of Arts at Sydney University.

In 2008, Kate took on the role of licensee and manager of a renowned Sydney pub, pioneering the shift to contract-free beer taps, and championing the burgeoning craft beer movement. Next moving on to another prominent inner west pub, revitalising and establishing it as a premier destination for craft beer enthusiasts. One of her proudest achievements here was creating a vibrant and inclusive beer club accessible to all and attracting more female beer lovers than any other event.

In late 2018, Kate made the move to Tasmania where she now proudly serves as manager and licensee of the Willie Smith’s Apple Shed. Overseeing all aspects of hospitality and culture at this iconic cider company. Kate has immersed herself in promoting the Huon Valley's rich offerings. From organising off-site festivals to managing the annual winter festival's food and beverage experiences, and helping to form the Huon Valley Tourism Network, as a founding committee member and former president she has relished every opportunity to highlight Tasmania's natural beauty and hospitality.

Liz O'Rourke

Liz has 25 years experience in marketing leadership roles, specialising in digital marketing. She worked in the music industry for over a decade on many of the world’s biggest and influential recording artists and labels, before moving into general consulting and agency work.

More recently, she has been the Executive Officer at Great Walks Of Australia - part of Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences of Australia program - showcasing the best of Oz’s hiking experiences and most iconic landscapes to the world.

As a regular visitor to Tasmania and having hiked many of its trails, Liz considers herself ‘almost Tasmanian’ and loves being in the most remote wilderness of her favourite state.

She was also one of Australia’s first certified forest therapy guides and is Territory Manager for Quiet Parks International, an organisation dedicated to the preservation of quiets places of nature around the world.

Alicia Perry

Alicia is currently diving into her first role in local government, bringing a new perspective to a background in tourism, education, and marketing.

Her hospitality career kicked off with the Federal Group in Northern Tasmania and has since added roles with the Fairmont Group and in remote tourism operations internationally. These experiences, coupled with her time at Business Events Tasmania, various industry boards, and freelance project work, give her an understanding in high-end delivery and the distinctive challenges of the tourism sector.

Outside of her professional life, she finds balance teaching yoga and embracing life outdoors.

Lisa Punshon

Lisa’s professional background includes management roles at both a state and local government level, private industry and with not for profits.

The core focus of her roles has consistently been the development of programs and projects that support businesses in the tourism, hospitality and retail industries.

Passionate about working with tourism and hospitality businesses and with government to develop the talent and skills needed for sustainable and responsible growth, Lisa is driven by the desire to influence and navigate all levels of government on behalf of industry with the belief that this will lead to greater opportunity for individuals, industry businesses and the broader Tasmanian community. Lisa is currently Executive Director of Visitor Experience Training, a hospitality and tourism industry-owned, government-supported Tasmanian training organisation.

Melinda Schultz

Melinda brings a wealth of experience from Tasmania’s tourism and events sectors. Currently the Estate Manager at Vaucluse Estate in the Northern Midlands, she oversees operations, events, and stakeholder relationships. With a passion for fostering community and business connections, she has also held key roles with Business Events Tasmania and Event Avenue, managing large-scale events and business development.

A proud Tasmanian, Melinda is passionate about promoting the state's unique offerings and connecting visitors to iconic, memorable experiences. She values the opportunity to contribute her expertise and champion the Tasmanian tourism industry through these Awards.

Liana Seadon

Liana started her career in tourism 6 years ago, working for a tourism magazine, before moving from media to transport, commencing her career with SkyBus/Kinetic in 2021 as the Sales Manager for Tasmania and recently moving into the role of Head of Sales for the southern region (Vic, Tas and NSW).

Liana was on the judging panel in 2021 and was previously the president of the Launceston and Tamar Valley Tourism Association and is currently on the committee of Young Tourism Tasmania.

Terri Simpkin

Terri is an Associate Professor in Management and the Director of Mischief: a consulting firm specialising in organisational capability development. She is also a NED for social enterprise, Hamlet.

After an award-winning tenure at Drysdale she moved onto global management roles for Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Nottingham in the UK.

Prior to this, Terri held multiple leadership roles in human resources, strategy and business management. As a consultant to the hospitality and tourism sectors, she has worked extensively with government agencies, SMEs, international industry associations and large companies.

She focusses on the complexity of contemporary workforces and emergent leadership challenges across sectors including organisations such as the NHS, Bloomberg, CBRE, BAE Systems and Cambridge University.

Her PhD examined the complexities of occupational decision making in the hospitality industry. As a Churchill Fellow, she researched human resources practices in hospitality and tourism across the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States including a management programme at Disney in Florida.

Taylor Sternek

Taylor Sternek is an Assistant Manager and Guide at Treetops Adventure Hollybank.

She entered the tourism industry 5 years ago and in this time, has fallen in love with the people, places and experiences she has been fortunate enough to become familiar with.

With one year of Tourism Awards judging under her belt, Taylor was thrilled to be on board again.

Robert Stewart

A wine industry professional intent on creating memorable experiences for visitors, Robert has spent the past 9 years in Wine Tourism and is currently working on a new wine brand / development project in the Tamar Valley.

Robert has 19 years’ experience in the service industry and a passion for all things wine and hospitality, leading a team to deliver an exemplary experience for locals and visitors alike.

With a passion for customer experience delivery and an advocate for Tasmania and its tourism industry, Robert was thrilled to again be part of the Tasmanian Tourism Awards Judges panel.

Nicolas Turner

Nicolas has more than 30 years’ experience as a journalist and public relations professional in Tasmania.

As Executive Chairman of Cor Comms, he maintains extensive contacts in business, government and media, both in Tasmania and interstate.

Managing the full range of communication programs on behalf of the consultancy’s clients, and providing strategic communication advice to major business in the public and private sector, he consults to enterprises involved in tourism, primary production, sport and recreation, energy distribution, infrastructure development, public transport and racing.

He is a former journalist with the State’s major daily newspaper, the Mercury.

Outside of Cor Comms, he is a Director of Queen Vic Care and a Director of Cricket Tasmania, and is a Fellow and Life Member of Communication and Public Relations Australia (formerly the Public Relations Institute of Australia).

Audrey Vignau

A very passionate tourism professional with 25-year experience in tourism distribution and marketing, Audrey started her career with customer facing roles working for luxury hotels and cruise lines worldwide.

Since relocating to Australia in 2007, Audrey has worked very closely with Australian tourism businesses in various executive roles in operations and marketing across a wide range of sectors cruising, business events, leisure, wellness, and regional economic development. Audrey has also been on various industry committees and mentorship programs to guide emerging tourism leaders.

After almost a decade of completing winning tourism awards submissions in major attraction, eco destination and tourism towns, Audrey has enjoyed the opportunity to share her knowledge and support of the Tasmanian tourism industry through the judging process.

Oscar Vorobjovas-Pinta

Dr Oscar Vorobjovas-Pinta is a distinguished tourism professional with a wealth of expertise in inclusive tourism, regional events, and, more recently, Antarctic Tourism. His extensive research and leadership roles underscore his commitment to advancing the tourism industry both academically and practically.

Oscar is the Course Coordinator of Master of Tourism, Environmental & Cultural Heritage, and a Senior Lecturer in Tourism and Society at the University of Tasmania. He also serves as the President of the Australia and New Zealand Association for Leisure Studies (ANZALS) and is a Board Director of Visit Northern Tasmania (VNT), roles that reflect his dedication to advancing and enriching the tourism sector.