Ferry service hops away with award

Written on the 30 July 2021 by Marshall Hall

The Gold Coast's Hopo Ferry service has claimed a tourism award.

The privately owned ferry service, which was launched in December 2019, has won the Gold Coast Business Excellence Award for Tourism, Events and Hospitality for July.

The Hopo Ferry business is owned by The Tour Collective, the company behind the well-known whale watching and sightseeing operation Sea World Cruises.

Company director Anthony Ardern said Hopo's passenger numbers had grown from strength to strength, even though the company had launched only months before the COVID-19 crisis struck.

"Since August 2020 the ferry service has been carrying an average of 5000 passengers per month,'' said Mr Ardern.

"The target market is a combination of locals and visitors to the City with approximately 60 per cent passengers being locals and 40 per cent visitors.

"It is important that the Ferry service is attractive to both markets as it operates 7 days a week from 9am to 6pm."

Mr Ardern said the company had ferried more than 75,000 passengers along the Nerang River and across the Broadwater since its launch.

The company spent more than $1.2 million on custom designed vessels, a ticketing kiosk in Surfers Paradise and upgrades to terminals to ensure they are fully accessible to all Gold Coast residents.

Hopo has also invested heavily into training employees, having trained 15 skippers to operate the Ferry service safely.

Its training efforts also helped the company to recently collect the Queensland Department of Small Business's Medium Employer of the Year Award.

The July winners in the other Gold Coast Business Excellence Awards categories were:
 

• Construction and Trades Award: Surf City Cranes
• Mayor's Innovation GC Award: Gilmour Space Technologies
• Student Engagement Award: Dan the Sparky Man
• Family Business Award: Marques Flooring
• Health and Wellbeing Award: Weight Loss Solutions Australia
• Professions and Services Award: MWM Advisory
• Retail, Wholesale and Distribution Award: VERVE Fitness Equipment
• Manufacturing Award: Shepherd Filters
• IT and Digital Business Award: Opmantek
• Emerging and Micro Business Award: HomeGuardian.ai

The awards, now in their 26th year, aim to foster pride in the city's business community and highlight its important as a business hub. Some of the city's best-known companies can claim to have been winners.

The awards' major sponsors include Dreamweavers, Mercedes Benz Gold Coast, Nuemann Steel, NuCrush Group, Neumann Contractors, Neumann Developments, QSuper, Study Gold Coast, City of Gold Coast, Choice Homes, MPM Property, Westpac, Harvey Norman Commercial Queensland, Optus Business Centre Gold Coast and Griffith University. The awards' media sponsors include the Gold Coast Bulletin, Nine NBN Television, 92.5 MMM and Hit 90.9.

The GCBEA's major supporters are KPMG, Document Solutions Australia, Bloomtools, Consulting Hall, The Graphic Design Company, The Star Gold Coast, Regina King Photography and Bond University.