THE wheels are in motion for the region's premier tourism event, as today marks the opening for nominations to the 2018 Whitsunday Tourism Awards.

The Whitsunday tourism's night of nights will take place on Saturday, October 20 and will be a night to celebrate individual achievements and also acknowledge those that have helped grow the Whitsunday region.

Tourism Whitsundays CEO Craig Turner said entering the Whitsunday Tourism Awards was a great way of keeping the business on track.

"Once again, we are opening up the Whitsunday Tourism Awards and I would encourage as many operators as possible to enter the awards, as the process of writing your submission is a great tool to evaluate where you are placed in your business,” Mr Turner said.

"Given the region's success at the Queensland Tourism Awards, in November last year, and again at the Australian Tourism Awards, in February, we would love to see a great number of our local operators take their Whitsunday Tourism Award submission and submit it to the Queensland Awards, as it's the same submission.”

Cumberland Charter Yachts general manager Sharon McNally, who won Silver at this year's Australian Tourism Awards, said the awards process had been a fantastic journey.

"It has made us stop and reflect on our past, consider the present goals and shape the future of Cumberland Charter Yachts,” she said.

"I use the awards as a business barometer to measure our successes, innovations, sustainability and environmental impacts, and of course our failures too. I was overjoyed and extremely proud we won Silver at national level. My team work so hard to deliver exceptional quality and service, they really deserved it.”

The venue for the awards is yet to be advised.