Attendees from across the state gathered at Shepparton’s MOVE for the Top Tourism Town awards ceremony.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Regional Victorian tourism was on proud display at the Museum of Vehicle Evolution as attendees gathered to find out if their town would take home the Top Tourism Town title.
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About 200 people from across the state, including Shepparton, gathered at MOVE for the Victoria Tourism Industry Council’s Top Tourism Town awards ceremony and Summit Gala Dinner on Wednesday night, July 23.
Pam Boyes and Lana Horn travelled from Baw Baw.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Renae Cooper, Alisha Harding and Amber Ferguson travelled from Phillip Island for the awards.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Victoria Tourism Industry Council acting chief executive Chris Porter said the fantastic event brought “regional tourism to life”, and was a good opportunity to showcase the unique venue.
“I think it even surprised attendees,” he said.
Mr Porter said Shepparton, one of the 25 finalist towns, was a great destination to host the awards, and the Victorian Tourism Summit, which was in town from Tuesday, July 22 to Thursday, July 24.
Victoria Tourism Industry Council acting chief executive Chris Porter.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“The value of these conferences is that they drive future visitation,” he said
“It’s a great opportunity to showcase regional Victoria.”
The awards have been running for five years, with 2025 seeing the most amount of finalists since 2021.
Mr Porter said the number of attendees at the awards night had also gone up after combining the event with the summit for the first time.
City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali thanked everyone for travelling from far and wide across the state to gather at MOVE.
City of Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Guests were greeted with a two-piece acoustic band as they arrived and began networking for the first part of the evening.
Emcee Olivia Evans-Smith then kicked off the speeches, which were eventually followed by dinner and the awards.
Olivia Evans-Smith emceed the night.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
There were about 200 attendees at the awards.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
The panel of nine judges made their decision, and ultimately, Warrnambool took the title of Top Tourism Town, with Ballarat winning silver and Echuca bronze.
The Top Small Tourism Town winner was Mount Beauty, with Port Fairy winning silver and Portarlington bronze.
The Top Tiny Tourism Town was awarded to Trentham, with Halls Gap winning silver and Whitfield bronze.
Jennifer Gome, Top Tourism judge Alysya Brandenburg and Richard Pansford.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
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