Victoria is dotted with regional towns that have so many attributes making them worth a visit. Our state has plenty of spots that are perfect for weekend getaways, offering everything from world-class galleries to fine-dining restaurants, and off-grid escapes to stunning hotels. Every year, these places across Victoria compete to claim an award in the TAC Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards, with only three towns in the whole of the state claiming a title. The finalists for 2025 have just been revealed, with 25 towns making the cut, and it seems like the competition will be a close call if the calibre of these towns is anything to go by. It all comes down to votes from the public that will help to decide who the winners will be.
To make it a fair competition, the three award categories are defined by population size, which means that there are three prizes to be won. The Top Tourism Town award is for regional cities with a population of more than 5,000 people, with nine Victorian destinations in the running to claim the title. The finalists for this category are the historic goldfields towns of Ballarat and Bendigo, the riverside spots of Echuca, Swan Hill, Mildura and Shepparton, the seaside towns of Warrnambool and Lakes Entrance, and last but not least, Werribee (which was once its own town, but is now an outer suburb of Melbourne).
The next prize to be awarded is the Top Small Tourism Town, with qualifiers having a population between 1,500 and 5,000 people. The wine havens of Heathcote and Rutherglen, the lake laden spot Camperdown, the peak-side town of Mount Beauty, picturesque Paynesville and the coastal towns of Port Fairy and Portarlington make up the seven finalists for this category.
Last but not least, there's the Top Tiny Town award, encompassing places with a population of fewer than 1,500 people. The nine finalists for this category are the Grampians' Dunkeld and Halls Gap, seaside spots of Flinders, Kilcunda, Marlo, the mountain range towns of Natimuk and Noojee, as well as Whitfield and Trentham.
To be selected as a finalist in the TAC Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards, each hopeful town had to make a submission demonstrating a strong commitment to tourism, increasing visitation to the destination, collaborating with local businesses, and overall making the town the best destination it can be. A panel of expert judges then chose the top destinations to determine the finalists.
Last year, the winners of the three awards were Bendigo for Victoria’s Top Tourism Town, Daylesford for the Top Small Tourism Town Award and the ice cream haven of Timboon came out a winner for the Top Tiny Tourism Town Award.
Now, the public get to decide who this year's winners will be. Voting for the TAC Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards is now open, and will close on June 27 at 5pm, so make sure to cast your vote here.
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