Taronga Zoo and Taronga Western Plains Zoo are celebrating a major win for wildlife conservation after taking home two of the top honours at the NSW Tourism Awards last night.Taronga Zoo claimed the coveted Gold Award for Major Tourist Attractions for the third time in four years, while sister zoo, Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo won the Tourist Attractions Award.Taronga’s General Manager for Marketing, Fundraising and Commercial Operations, Paul Davies said the double win was a testament to the zoos’ enduring appeal to local, interstate and international visitors alike.“To be recognised from a field of the state’s leading tourist attractions, destinations and events is a great honour and an endorsement for the compelling power of wildlife to inspire people of all ages,” said Mr Davies.“These awards are also a tribute to Taronga’s commitment to animal care, education, customer service and commercial management and an outstanding result for our staff, who present remarkable stories of wildlife to our visitors every day.”The Gold Award caps off an incredible 12 months for Taronga Zoo, which attracted a record of more than 440,000 visitors in three months with its innovative Dinosaurs in the Wild exhibition and highlighted the importance of wildlife conservation and individual action under its new banner, “For the Wild”.“Modern zoos work hard to maintain the quality of their visitor experience and contribution to wildlife conservation and we’re very proud the innovations and initiatives we’ve implemented over the past year have been recognised at these important industry awards,” said Mr Davies.Taronga Zoo is poised to build on its success in the coming year, with the opening of its new Lemur Forest Adventure in mid-December and the completion of its community art project, Taronga Wild! Rhinos, which will see 55 Rhinoceros installed across Sydney and on a trail to Taronga Western Plains Zoo from February to April 2014.Presented by the Tourism Industry Council (TIC) NSW, the NSW Tourism Awards celebrate and acknowledge tourism businesses that have demonstrated outstanding achievement and success throughout the year.