Bass Coast Shire Council took out gold at the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards Gala on Thursday, 22 November.

The annual awards are presented by the Victorian Tourism Industry Council and celebrate outstanding contributions to the tourism industry from organisations and suppliers across the state.

Bass Coast won Gold in the Local Government Award for Tourism category and was a finalist in the Visitor Services category.

Bass Coast Shire Mayor, Cr Brett Tessari, explained that the award is a great recognition of the services Bass Coast Visitor Information centres and staff provide, and the strategic goals the Economic Development and Tourism team have been delivering.

“This award acknowledges the way our Council has gone above and beyond to support the visitor economy,” Cr Tessari said.

“Our aim is to provide an exceptional visitor experience, and we achieve this through our visitor information centres, and also through coordinating fantastic events throughout the year.”

“We are also delivering on the actions set out in our San Remo and Phillip Island Visitor Economy Strategy, which looks at the whole visitor experience from the way they interact with our unique environment, to how they travel around our shire and the services available to them while they are here.”

The award is judged on five categories: Tourism excellence, Business Planning, Marketing, Customer Service and Sustainability.

Congratulations to all Bass Coast businesses that were acknowledged in a range of categories that showcase the diversity of tourism experiences in our region.

• Big 4 Inverloch - Gold
• A Maze ‘N’ Things - Silver
• Naturaliste tours (French island) – Bronze
• Phillip Island Helicopters – finalist
• Phillip Island and Bass Coast Visitor Information Centre Network - finalist