2025 WA Tourism Awards: Gold for Albany Historic Whaling Station and Denmark’s Singlefile Wines

Albany’s Historic Whaling Station is celebrating a double win, having picked up two golds in the 2025 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards.

The station grabbed top honours in the tourist attractions and cultural tourism categories with the award winners announced at a gala dinner at Crown Perth on November 8.

There were other successes too with Denmark’s Singlefile Wines topping the tourism wineries, distilleries and breweries section while there was a silver for Cheynes Beach Caravan Park in the caravan and holiday park category.

There were 26 categories and dozens of nominees, with the gold medallists going on to represent WA at the Australian Tourism Awards, which will be held in Fremantle in March next year.

It was a second-consecutive triumph for the whaling station in the tourist attractions slot with chief executive Jen Bane paying tribute to the staff whose customer service was rated highly in the most critical scoring areas.

“We are very excited to have won two categories,” she said.

“There are so many incredible destinations across WA, so to be named the State’s top tourist attraction and cultural tourism winner is such an honour.

“The night was incredible; while on stage I invited everyone to come and experience Albany and the Great Southern, and the response was amazing.

“These awards represent the highest level of recognition in our industry, and to achieve double gold is something we’re incredibly proud of.

“For a not-for-profit that’s been operating for 45 years, every success goes straight back into preserving and growing the precinct for generations to come.”

She said a key part of the whaling station’s score came from visitor feedback.

“Some 30 per cent of the scores come from software which correlates all the online data left by people on Google, TripAdvisor and other social media,” Ms Bane said.

“That gives the judges a good idea of what the customer service response is, gleaned from the people who have spent the time to give a review so it reflects their genuine experience.”

Albany’s Historic Whaling Station finished ahead of the Willie Creek Pearl Farm, near Broome, and Perth’s Matagarup Zip+Climb in the tourist attractions category.

It was in front of the WA Museum in Perth and Gingin’s Star Tracks Astro in the cultural tourism section.

As well as winning gold, Singlefile Wines was also inducted into the Hall of Fame, a status earned by topping the podium in the same category three years in a row.

Founder Viv Snowden said the award was due recognition for a long journey which had been interrupted by the pandemic.

“It has been a long time coming but it’s good discipline entering for the award because you have to think about what you are doing, why you are doing it and how you are doing it,” she said.

“You’re also asked about your vision for the future and in your next submission you have to address whether you have achieved it.

“And, as it’s all about tourism and customer service those are all key points for the business as a whole.”

Cheynes Beach Caravan Park was pipped for gold by Busselton’s Mandalay Holiday Resort.

Evan Hall, the Tourism Council WA chief executive, said the awards sponsored by Perth Airport were the biggest and best in the State.

“The Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards stand as the highest honour in WA’s tourism industry, celebrating business excellence, innovation and exceptional customer service among tourism operators,” he said.