Judging follows the national policies and guidelines, overseen by an independent professional auditor.

Each submission is assessed by a team of three judges. The outcome of each category is determined by the aggregate of the three judges scores together with the site visit score (where appropriate - some categories do not have a site visit, and some categories site visit score is not included in the aggregate).

Judges read submissions in their own time during the judging period and enter feedback and scores into the online portal where they also read the submissions.

After the judging review period, a deliberation day occurs where the judging team confers and collates their comments. All entries that achieve the benchmark will become a finalist.

Key dates:

Judges Briefing: Friday 30 August 2024

Submission Judging: Saturday 31 August – Sunday 22 September 2024

Deliberation Day: Friday 27 September 2024 (Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania)

Tourism Awards Gala: Friday 8 November 2024 (Wrest Point)

Types of Judges

There are two types of judges required for the awards:

• Submission Review Judge (read submissions online in your own time and supply a score and feedback)
• Validation Review Judge (an online review of the business to complete a verification form)
  

Panel Members

The judging panel for the 2024 Tasmanian Tourism Awards will be respected and experienced members of tourism or associated industries. They all volunteer a significant amount of their own time to judge entries and provide entrants with feedback. Four of the best Tasmanian Tourism Awards Judges are selected annually to judge in the prestigious Australian Tourism Awards.

The judging team is led by the Chair of Judges, whose role is to facilitate and moderate the judging process. The Chair of Judges is appointed for three years and is typically someone with significant experience as a state and national Tourism Awards judge.

Chair of Judges - Vincent Barron

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 both a submission judge and a site review judge for six years.

2024 sees Vin enter his third year as Chair of Judges for both the Tasmanian Tourism Awards and the Tassie's Top Tourism Towns Awards.