Moyne Shire Council, Media Release, 7 July 2022

Port Fairy is Victoria’s Top Small Tourist Town for the second year running and has been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The town picked up the Victorian Tourism Council’s Top Tourism Town Awards presented in Healesville on Wednesday night.

Mayor Cr Ian Smith said it was an incredible achievement to go back-to-back and was a reflection of the huge efforts of council’s visitor services team and the local community.

“These awards recognise the hard work and commitment of our tourism operators, local businesses and the community, and is a significant win for not only the town of Port Fairy, but the broader region as well,” Cr Smith said.

“It really is a reflection on the efforts everyone puts in to make Port Fairy and the Moyne region an outstanding destination people want to visit.

“The tourism sector has had a pretty rough couple of years, so awards like this will help us recover and rebound stronger than ever.”

Cr Smith also congratulated Timboon and the Corangamite Shire, which won Silver in the tiny town category.

“These don’t only benefit the town whose name is on the trophy – we work really closely as a whole region to attract people here and encourage them to move around to experience everything we have to offer.

“So to have two of these awards going to south-west towns is fantastic news and will have a knock effect on for everyone.”

The prize for winning the small town awards includes a $10,000 television advertising package which Cr Smith said would promote the region to a wider Victorian and interstate audience.

“We saw last year there were increased enquiries and bookings after this award win – so we are expecting the same this year,” he said.

“Those enquiries coming through gives us the opportunity to promote not just Port Fairy, but everything that is on offer across Moyne.

“Now we are off to the national awards later in the year and aiming to go one better that last year and bring home the gold as Australia’s top tourist town.”