Iconic Cultural Institution the Royal Australian Mint Accepts Canberra Region Tourism Awards

Body: 

Iconic Australian cultural heritage institution and the sole producer of the nation’s circulating coins, the Royal Australian Mint (the Mint), was recognised for its excellence in tourism operations and visitor experience at the Canberra Region Tourism Awards on Friday night.

Royal Australian Mint General Manager, Mark Cartwright and Education and Visitor Services Manager, Kate Landford, accepted the Cultural Tourism Award and the Visitor Experience Award on behalf of the Mint.

“The awards recognise the Mint’s dedicated staff welcoming 355,135 visitors through its doors this year, including 66,091 school students, who have the unique opportunity to learn about how Australia’s circulating coins are made and sharing the diverse stories behind our nation’s coins” Ms Landford said.

The Royal Australian Mint’s CEO, Ross MacDiarmid said; "it is an honour for the Mint and its passionate staff to receive recognition for the exemplary provision of meaningful and engaging educational opportunities regarding our nation’s unique coins and rich cultural history."

This is the second year in a row that the Mint has accepted awards in the Cultural Tourism and the Visitor Experience categories.   As the recipient of a Cultural Tourism Award, the Mint will progress to the 2019 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards to be held in Canberra on 6 March, 2020.

The Cultural Tourism category recognises tourism operations as fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of authentic culture, history, heritage and/or the arts.  The Visitor Experience category also recognises quality visitor experiences and is awarded to the three top scoring tourism operators and businesses based on a visitor experience survey as part of the tourism award program.

The Mint is a must-see attraction where visitors have the opportunity see where every single Australian coin in the pockets of millions of Australians is made. The factory-viewing platform enables a rare and rich insight into its work, an opportunity offered at very few mints in the world.

The Royal Australian Mint is open every day, except Good Friday and Christmas Day.   It offers free parking, free admission and free scheduled public tours.

Media Enquiries:

Royal Australian Mint: Heather McGirr, Heather.McGirr@ramint.gov.au, 0418 164 769