With the results announced recently, once again Australia received several top accolades across the country including number one rankings in the Australia, New Zealand, and South Pacific region in several categories including: Top City in the region, Sydney; Top Resort and Top City Hotel in the region, Southern Ocean Lodge and The Langham, Melbourne, respectively; and Top Island in the region, the Great Barrier Reef.
These prestigious awards recognize Travel + Leisure readers' top experiences around the world, revealing the best in cities, hotels, islands and more.
Australian nature, cities and resort experiences had impressive showings with the country scoring eight of the Top Ten City Hotels in Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific category and two of its resorts ranking on the list of Top 100 Hotels overall, with Southern Ocean Lodge placing third among hotels worldwide.
"Australia provides some of the world's best and most unique experiences across cities, luxury hotel stays and one-of-a-kind nature," Andrew McEvoy, managing director of Tourism Australia, said.
"We are honoured that the readers of Travel + Leisure have identified with these experiences and voted Australia among the best in the world."
Many of these 'best of' experiences are featured in the next phase of Tourism Australia's global marketing campaign, There's nothing like Australia, which launched a few weeks ago.
As part of the campaign, Tourism Australia has created the There's Nothing Like Australia tablet app to help those planning their Australian vacation to get an immersive look at its top destinations and activities.
The app allows travellers to plan an itinerary based on these experiences and share with friends via Facebook, Twitter and Google+. The app is available for both Apple and Android tablets and phones.
Easily recognised by its iconic harbour, Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the metropolitan area of Sydney is surrounded by national parks, the Blue Mountains, the Hunter Valley and the coastal regions featuring the iconic beaches of Bondi and Manly.
Southern Ocean Lodge on Australia's Kangaroo Island is close to Flinders Chase and Kelly Hill National Parks, allowing visitors to experience the unique coastal wilderness and abundant wildlife on the island.
With more than 100 islands, the Great Barrier Reef provides countless experiences from water sports like diving and swimming to relaxing on the white sands of Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island.
Five-star luxury hotel The Langham, in Melbourne, is located on the Southbank Promenade overlooking the Yarra River. Restaurants available at the hotel like the Melba Brasserie provide some of the best dining experiences in Australia.
