Tourism Industry Coincil Tasmania

Tasmania’s towns and villages are where our visitors find the real Tasmania – the characters, the quirky personalities, the history and stories, that make exploring our state so rewarding.

Our towns are also where our tourism dollars are best spent – supporting local businesses and local jobs, and keeping our regional communities vibrant for everyone.

This competition is an opportunity for Tasmanian towns of all sizes to showcase what makes their special part of Tassie such an amazing visitor destination in its own right. It is also about having your town recognised as a place where tourism operators, businesses, and the local community band together to make your town the very best destination it can be.

Nominations are open to any city or town, specifically relating to geographical towns and population centres, not Local Government Areas.

The 2024 categories and criteria remain unchanged from last year, with three categories available:

• The Top Tourism Town Award for populations over 5,000 (Capital cites CANNOT enter, but cities CAN enter)
• The Small Tourism Town Award for populations under 5,000, but greater than 1,500
• The Tiny Tourism Town Award for populations under 1,500
  (ABS census data should be referenced to determine population size.)

Entries are open to Accredited Visitor Information Centres, Local Councils, 'DAP' Groups, and Local Tourism Associations.

Each entry must feature:

• An overview of the town, including target market and its commitment to tourism
• A travel/tourism-focused website showcasing the town and its tourism operators, including an online booking functionality (or links to individual operator websites)
• A feature-style editorial
• A short vignette showcasing the town
• A travel itinerary
  (See below for further details)

A nomination fee of $199 applies to all categories, and submissions must be completed via the Quality Tourism Framework portal.

All entries are profiled extensively by TICT and our Tassie's Top Tourism Towns major sponsors.

The Tassie's Top Tourism Town program forms part of the national search for Australia's Top Tourism Towns - with Tasmania's three category winners to be re-judged alongside the Top Towns from every state and territory later in the year to determine Australia's Top Tourism Towns for 2024.

Key Dates 2024

• Online Information Session Thursday 22 February (register here)
• Nominations Close Thursday 14 March
• Submissions Close Wednesday 24 April
• Consumer Voting 29 April - 13 May
• Winners Announced Wednesday 19 June, Spreyton Cider, Spreyton
• Australian Top Tourism Towns Award Winners Announced 10 September, Parliament House, Canberra

Entry Requirements

Judging Process

The judging process will be overseen by the state/territory Chair of Judges. There are three components to the judging process which will determine each town's overall score:

1. Submission Review - a panel of three experienced judges will review the written submission (including question responses, article, video and itinerary) and score individually. These scores will be combined and averaged to determine your submission score. The submission review is worth 65% of the total score available.
2. Consumer Vote - the public will be invited to vote for their favorite town across all three categories, and the resulting consumer vote will be worth 25% of the total score available. This vote will be online and promoted through social media channels.
3. Consumer Review - in order to gain a perspective from visitors who have experienced the town, a Global Review Index (GRI) score for each town's listed accommodation and activities will be obtained from ReviewPro. A GRI is an online reputation score based on review data collected from over 135 online travel agencies and review platforms. The GRI from each accommodation and activity featured in the town's itinerary will be combined and averaged to determine the customer review score. The customer review is worth 10% of the total score available.

More information on each criteria, and the weighting of the submission is available below.

Why enter?

• Profile your town - All entries are promoted through the consumer judging process, and the social media channels of TICT, Spirit of Tasmania, RTOs, and other industry partners. This competition also generates local media coverage.
• Celebrate your local tourism industry - Proud of what your town is doing in tourism? This is a chance to bring your local tourism operators, community members, and local government together to share and celebrate your success and strategies.
• Create great destination marketing resources - The content and information you bring together in preparing your entry, including the video, itinerary, and article, can be refined and used again in showcasing your town.
• Winners Announcement Event - This year's Tassie Top Tourism Towns will be announced at an event at Parliament House, Hobart, with your State Politicians on-hand to celebrate your entry.
• You might win - Each of our three category winners receive a marketing package from TICT's partners promoting their status as a Top Tourism Town to local and interstate visitors.
• Tasmanian Winners automatically become National Finalists - Tasmania's three category winners will automatically become finalists in the Search for Australia's Top Tourism Town, with the winners announced at a major national industry event at Parliament House, Canberra in October.

NOMINATE YOUR TOWN

Nominations and submissions must be made via the Quality Tourism Framework online portal.

For more information or help with submitting your entry, contact kelly.luck@tict.com.au