Bass Coast Shire Council has taken home two prestigious Victorian Tourism Awards, for tourism in local government and its visitor information services.
The awards, organised by the Victorian Tourism Industry Council, recognise tourism excellence and outstanding innovation within the sector.
Council was a finalist in two categories, the Local Government Award for Tourism and Visitor Information Services, taking out silver and bronze, respectively.
Bass Coast is synonymous with tourism, hosting more than 3.4 million visitors every year.
The region is home to a number of popular visitor experiences including Phillip Island Nature Parks and the famous Penguin Parade, a network of more than 40 different bushwalks and coast tracks, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and winter Whale Festival.
Council also partners and hosts annual events including the Australian MotoGP, Bass Coast Summer Series and Inverloch Jazz Festival, supporting events throughout the year to build the visitor economy even in the off-peak season.
Mayor Cr Clare Le Serve said tourism is at the heart of Bass Coast, with Council having a significant focus on growing the region's visitor economy, whilst ensuring every opportunity works in harmony with our natural environment.
"As a Council we are proud to not only host some fabulous events, but to play an active role in making sure they happen, and that they align with our values of putting the environment first in everything we do," she said.
"We are lucky to be surrounded by natural beauty, and we see it as our role to protect our natural assets for generations to come. Each holiday season our population swells to more than 70,000, which makes the region quite unique."
"These awards are testament to the staff who work tirelessly to promote our wonderful region, and an acknowledgement to the wonderful people who visit us, many of them returning several times a year."
Highlighting the significance of the tourism sector, Council has dedicated teams ensuring the natural environment is front of mind for all future planning and investment. In addition to this, Council has a Visitor Services team that manage two accredited Visitor Information Centres along with a mobile Visitor Services Bus to ensure our team is accessible to all at the most appropriate time and locations.
"The distinctive and prominent Phillip Island visitor information centre is the first stop for many tourists on Phillip Island. Last financial year, we assisted more than 60,000 visitors at our Phillip Island and Inverloch centres," Cr Le Serve said.
"The passionate team at Bass Coast work closely with local businesses and contribute over $200,000 directly into the local tourism economy through accommodation bookings, ticket sales, retail and local product sales - which is why they deserve this recognition."
Bass Coast Shire Council congratulates the winner of both categories, the City of Greater Bendigo. We also congratulate our local award winners; NRMA Phillip Island Beachfront Holiday Park won Gold in the Caravan & Holiday Parks category; Harman Wines won Bronze in the Tourism Wineries, Distilleries & Breweries category; Phllip Island Nature Parks was awarded Silver in the Major Tourism Attraction category; Destination Philip Island won Silver for Tourism Marketing & Campaigns; Genesta House Bed & Breakfast received the Silver award for Hosted Accommodation and Tour Local took out Bronze in the Tour & Transport Operators category.
Big4 Ingenia Holidays Inverloch was also a finalist in the Caravan & Holiday Parks category. Congratulations to all of our local finalists for their extraordinary contributions.
Inclusivity and accessibility play a vital role in the success of Bass Coast's tourism ventures, with support for communicating in different languages, recognition of different cultures, sensory inclusion and infrastructure that caters to large groups and families.
Phillip Island Hot Springs and Rhyll Brewery and Distillery, which will open in the next two years, have been funded with assistance from the State Government, as a direct result of this engagement with support and advocacy provided by Council, highlighting the importance of our role in the development of the tourism industry in Bass Coast.
