The winners of Victoria’s TAC Top Tourism Town Awards have been revealed, with Bendigo, Daylesford, and Timboon taking the top honours for 2024.
Bendigo was named this year’s TAC Victorian Top Tourism Town (population over 5,000), while Daylesford took the win for the Top Small Tourism Town Award (population between 1,500 and 5,000) and Timboon won Gold for the Top Tiny Tourism Town Award (population under 1,500).
Silver was awarded to Warrnambool for Top Tourism Town, Sorrento for Small Tourism Town and Arthurs Seat for Tiny Tourism Town. Bronze commendations were awarded to Ballarat, Heathcote and Koondrook.
This year, the City of Greater Bendigo celebrated Bendigo Easter Festival’s Year of the Dragon, the beautiful Paris exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery and the successful Bonjour Bendigo marketing campaign that brought a fun French flavour to activities and gastronomic fare.
Bendigo is highly regarded as a welcoming city and is best known for its heritage architecture, cultural attractions, beautiful parks and gardens, and food and beverage.
The awards, hosted by the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC), recognise and celebrate towns that provide an outstanding visitor experience, with 17 finalists vying for the awards this year.
VTIC Chief Executive Felicia Mariani said the awards showcased the diverse range of regional destinations in Victoria and the economic impact tourism brings to these towns.
“As Victorians’ passion for travelling in their own back yard only increases in popularity, it’s wonderful to see these amazing towns and regional centers across our state being recognised as places to get on to the must-visit list,” she said.
The three Victorian gold winners will now go on to compete for the coveted title of Australia’s Top Tourism Town in their respective categories. This will be announced on the 10th of September at Parliament House, Canberra.
The full list of winners and finalists is available here: www.vtic.com.au/toptourismtown
