Richard Barley, CEO of Open Gardens Australia has been awarded ‘International Person of the Year’ at the Garden Tourism Awards in Toronto.
The award recognizes the contribution that Mr Barley, and Open Gardens Australia more generally, has made to the promotion of garden-based tourism in Australia and to raising the profile of garden tourism internationally.
The Garden Tourism Awards were created in 2011 and are an initiative of the Garden Tourism Council, based in Canada and the United States. Mr Barley is the third recipient of this international award.
In accepting the award, Mr Barley said he was honoured to be chosen and pleased that the efforts of Open Gardens Australia have been recognized in this way.
“This is a real feather in the cap for Open Gardens Australia and the work it has done in promoting the benefits of gardens and gardening across Australia over many years,” Mr Barley said.
“With the generous support of our gardening community, we open hundreds of high-quality and interesting gardens, and host exciting garden-themed events, which are enjoyed by many thousands of visitors right across the country.”
“As a representative of Open Gardens Australia, it has been my pleasure to promote our activities in many locations overseas, including France, the UK, the USA and Singapore, over the past few years.”