Victorian Tourism Awards 2022 honour business excellence and performance

December 5, 2022

The Victorian Tourism Awards, held last Thursday and hosted annually by the Victoria Tourism Industry Council (VTIC), honoured business excellence and performance within the industry.

VTIC, in collaboration with Presenting Partner, City of Melbourne, and Platinum Partner, Melbourne Airport, recognised the outstanding contribution made by operators across the state to deliver memorable experiences.

Three of Victoria’s leading tourism operators were inducted into the prestigious Victorian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame.

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Cable Park and Alexandra Hotel claimed Hall of Fame status after winning gold in the same category for three consecutive years.

VTIC Chief Executive Felicia Mariani said the awards showcase some of the most compelling experiences in Victorian tourism.

“Over 950 tourism and events operators came together last night to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of their teams and the industry as a whole,” Mariani said.

“VTIC is proud to deliver such an important event for our industry that highlights the innovation, passion, and professionalism that our operators exhibit every day in creating magical moments for their visitors.

“We congratulate all our Gold, Silver and Bronze category winners, along with all of this year’s finalists, who represent the exemplars across Victoria in delivering excellence to their guests.

“This has been another challenging year for tourism businesses in Victoria, with so many experiencing ongoing staff shortages and many affected by the current flood disaster. But these operators still found the energy and commitment to prepare submissions and to enter this important recognition process.

“We congratulate all our Gold winners and wish them every success in representing Victoria at the national awards in Sydney in March 2023.”

Greater Bendigo secured three golds, two silvers and two bronze at the awards ceremony ceremony.

The City of Greater Bendigo won gold in the Best Tourism Marketing and Campaigns category for its VIVA BENDIGO-themed campaign to promote the Australian-exclusive exhibition Elvis: Direct from Graceland at Bendigo Art Gallery.

VIVA BENDIGO complemented the blockbuster exhibition and encouraged visitors to stay longer, with more than 100 Elvis-themed events, activations, accommodation packages and experiences created by City staff and local businesses.

This is the second gold in this category for the City. The first was in 2019 for the Tudors to Windsors campaign, which went on to win a national award.

Bendigo Visitor Centre won gold for the second time in a row in the Visitor Information Services category, in recognition of its consistent, high-quality customer service and face-to-face interaction with visitors.

Staff and volunteers at Bendigo Visitor Centre experienced their busiest year, helping over 58,000 visitors and supporting VIVA BENDIGO. They sold 1,848 VIVA BENDIGO accommodation packages, three times the amount sold during the 2016 Marilyn Monroe exhibition, and 1,175 tickets to special events and tours.

The City won silver in the Local Government Award for Tourism category. The award recognises excellence in tourism planning, the provision of tourism facilities and services, marketing, event development and management, and the overall contribution made both locally and overall to their State/Territory’s tourism industry.

Bendigo Tourism members were also recognised for their achievements over the past year.

The BIG4 Caravan Park Bendigo Marong Holiday Park won gold in the Caravan and Holiday Parks category, Balgownie Winery won silver in the Unique Accommodation category. Central Deborah Motel won bronze in the 4-4.5 Star Deluxe Accommodation category and a bronze award also went to Rambling Wine Tours in the New Tourism Business category.

Bendigo Art Gallery was a finalist for the Elvis: Direct from Graceland exhibition in the Major Festivals and Events category. The exhibition attracted 220,000 visitors, smashing box office records, and its economic impact on the region is estimated at $65M according to Victorian Government figures.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council secured Victorian Tourism Award for their Autumn Festival with the festival edging out the Adventure Park Geelong Winter Glow Festival and the Ballarat Heritage Festival to take top spot in the Festivals & Events category.

The Autumn Festival attracted close to 15,000 visitors this year and provided a welcome boost to the local economy. As a category winner, it will now go on to represent Victoria at the Australian Tourism Awards to be held in Sydney in March 2023.

Mayor Annette Death, said she was thrilled to see Council recognised for its hard work as a first-time entrant in these awards.

“The last couple of years have presented significant challenges for tourism,” she said. “We have worked really hard to get tourists back to the region to visit our amazing attractions and support our local businesses.

“I’d like to congratulate our team on an incredible effort, and thank all of our local businesses and everybody who supported our Autumn Festival program.”

Macedon Ranges Shire Council also took out bronze in the Local Government Award for Tourism category, which recognises excellence in tourism planning, facilities and the contribution to the Victorian tourism industry.

Planning is now underway for the 2023 Autumn Festival, which will take place throughout April across nine historic villages to showcase the region’s makers, producers, artisans and attractions.

Visitors can explore and discover the beauty of autumn in the Macedon Ranges by experiencing vibrant farmers markets, curated trails and itineraries, open gardens, foodie experiences, artisan workshops and events.

New ‘Tipple Trail’ itineraries will encourage visitors to discover country pubs, breweries, distillery and cellar doors in the region, providing further opportunities for businesses to get involved.

111 submissions were made this year for the Victorian Tourism Awards, all vying for an award across 31 various categories.

To view all category winners, click here

20th August 2022 - Major events help rebound of Victorian tourism and economy

9th November 2020 - New Victorian tourism campaign encourages exploration of local destinations

23rd October 2020 - Victorian tourism industry unites in aim to drive reopening of visitor economy

20th February 2020 - New marketing campaign aims to boost Victorian tourism

20th July 2017 - Growing Victorian tourism sector impacted by ongoing skills shortages

5th July 2016 - Tourism trends to be explained at the 2016 Victorian Tourism Conference

13th August 2015 - New agency launched for Victorian tourism and major events

17th February 2021 - VTIC fear loss of jobs in Victorian tourism and events without further support

13th May 2020 - VTIC highlights need for coordinated response to COVID-19 recovery

27th April 2020 - VTIC welcomes new emergency funding for tourism industry

30th March 2020 - VTIC calls for immediate hibernation and wage subsidy packages

4th January 2020 - VTIC provides advice for businesses impacted by the bushfires

5th July 2019 - VTIC Conference heads to Geelong to share industry disruption and excellence

23rd October 2017 - VTIC welcomes strong events forecast but stresses that attractions must plan for winter visitors

7th June 2017 - VTIC highlights challenges for tourism in regional Victoria

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.