Elsie Lange
The Macedon Ranges region won big at this year’s Victorian Tourism Awards, with the Autumn Festival taking out the prize for best festival.
Coming out on top of Adventure Park Geelong’s Winter Glow Festival and the Ballarat Heritage Festival, it took home the festival and events category gong.
Macedon Ranges council said the Autumn Festival had attracted close to 15,000 visitors in 2022, and provided a welcome boost to the local economy.
The festival will now go on to represent Victoria at the Australian Tourism Awards to be held in Sydney in March next year.
Mayor Annette Death said she was thrilled to see council recognised for its hard work as a first time entrant.
“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.”
Tourism Macedon Ranges was also delighted with the result.
“This is another great win for the Macedon Ranges following our Top Tiny Tourism Town Award and recognises the hard work of festival organisers and all those who staged the events that make up the Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival,” Tourism Macedon Ranges said.
Not only did the festival win gold, but Macedon Ranges council won bronze in the local government award for tourism category, celebrating excellence in tourism planning, facilities and the contribution to Victorian tourism.
The awards are judged by a panel of industry leaders, appointed by the Victoria Tourism Industry Council, and aim to showcase the state’s leaders in tourism excellence and acknowledge innovation, industry professionalism and collaboration.
Planning is now underway for the 2023 Autumn Festival, taking place across April next year.
