Busselton has been named the winner of the 2021 GWN7 Top Tourism Town Award at a ceremony held last night in Geraldton as part of the Perth Airport WA Regional Tourism Conference.
The awards recognise and reward towns in Western Australia which demonstrate a strong commitment to encouraging tourism and increasing visitation to the destination.
Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association entered the awards on behalf of Busselton, working in partnership with the City of Busselton, Busselton Jetty and the local tourism industry to encourage public voting.
The online vote saw the Busselton community, alongside visitors past and present, come forward to share their passion for their city.
In recognition of the achievement, Busselton will receive a $25,000 advertising package on the regional television network GWN7. For the first time in 2021, winners of the award will go forward to a national competition with the chance to be crowned Australia's 'Top Tourism Town'.
City of Busselton mayor Grant Henley said the award was a very pleasant surprise.
Representing Busselton at the event was Mr Henley, fellow councillor Kate Cox, and staff from the MRBTA, Busselton Jetty and Australia's South West.
"We had a good crew to celebrate the win," Mr Henley said.
Finalists in the awards also included staff from the Busselton Jetty, Kerry Linham (FACET Golden Guide Award) and Amy Gornall (Individual Excellence in Customer Service).
The award is another tourism accolade for the region. Yallingup was named the nation's best town in 2019 by Australian Traveller, and Dunsborough has previously been named WA's best small tourism town.
MRBTA joint chief executive Sharna Kearney praised the efforts of the community to share their passion for the city via the public vote:
"This is an incredible achievement for Busselton, and with the award depending heavily on public voting, it is a direct reflection of the immense local pride which exists here," she said.
"We now can't wait to see how Busselton performs in the national competition. With its world class tourism offering, we have every confidence that we can go all the way to be crowned Top Tourism Town in Australia."
