Australians are taking part in a nationwide poll of the country’s greatest treasures that will heretofore be known as the ‘Seven Wonders of Australia’.
In what is set to be the nation’s largest-ever online travel poll, Australia’s most iconic sites will be scrutinised to determine which are our country’s greatest wonders.
“People have been making lists of the top icons of Australia for years, but they have always come from the – often biased – perspective of one writer. We now live in the age of crowdsourcing and, given we work with thousands of tourism experience businesses across the country and collaborate with tourism organisations in each state, our distribution network allows us to get a massive sample size of Aussies’ opinions,” said Experience Oz Marketing Manager Matt Hobbs.
“We’re asking people to weigh in, based on a number of criteria, such as desirability as a travel spot, natural and historic value, beauty and a number of other factors that make Australia’s sites and their experiences so amazing.”
Australians of voting age are being asked to select seven wonders from a shortlist of 50 iconic Australian natural sites, landmarks and architectural icons submitted by state and regional tourism organisations from across the country.
Nominees include obvious favourites such as the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Twelve Apostles, the Devil’s Marbles and Kata Tjuta, as well as some that may seem massively out of place when put beside such astounding natural wonders.
Public voting closes in October, and a list of 20 finalists will then be probed by a panel of judges from Australia’s tourism, conservation and not-for-profit sectors, after which, the ‘Seven Wonders of Australia’ will be announced to the world.
The list hopes to improve travel and tourism in the country but, more importantly, highlight the need for conservation and protection of historic and important environmental sites, and cultural and historic landmarks.
“We are passionate about our country and keeping our wonders wonderful, while safeguarding wilderness and wildlife for future generations,” said Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife CEO Ian Derbyshire.
“Australia has lost 75 per cent of its rainforest and nearly 50 per cent of all forests in the last 200 years, and without a lasting form of protection, habitat can be degraded or destroyed; campaigns such as ‘Seven Wonders of Australia’ are vital in terms of raising awareness and shedding light on our beautiful country and the need to protect it. So we encourage everyone to get involved.”
To cast your votes, visit Oz Experience or SMS [WONDERNAME] to 19 719 777.
Voting closes Sunday 7 October 2018.
Read more at ETB.
Which do you think are Australia’s seven wonders? Should the voting be limited to natural wonders? Do you think places such as Parliament House should even be considered?
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