In a spectacular coup, Braidwood has taken out first place in the Canberra region’s Top Tourism Town Awards, as the sole entrant, finalist and winner.
Not to take anything away from its victory – Braidwood did have to undergo vigorous judging – a win is a win. The Canberra region has only 11 towns that are eligible to enter these awards, and it appears only one town wanted to.
As well as the Small Tourism Town category (population below 5,000 people) that Braidwood entered, the other categories of Top Tourism Town (population over 5,000 people) and Tiny Tourism Town (population below 1,500 people) attracted no entries.
A bumpy start to the Canberra region’s inaugural event. Debra Beetham, general manager of National Capital Attractions Association, stressed that Braidwood didn’t win just because they were the sole entry.
“They’ve had to go through a rigorous judging campaign for them to win the award,” Debra says. “They then go across to the nationals so we have to compete and be at an appropriate level. For us to have a town to put forward is just brilliant.”
The media release announcing the award was embargoed until last night’s awards presentation event at Vibe Hotel, however one would assume the secrecy and suspense was unnecessary.
After celebrating the dizzying win, Braidwood will go on to the nationals in September, which are to be held at Parliament House now and into the future. The reason for this is to show federal politicians that there’s more to the Canberra region than just fine dining at politician-hangout, Monks at Kingston Foreshore.
“We want to make politicians aware of the regional area, it’s very much a place and not just a big city,” Debra says. “We want to show how important the region is to all of us. It’s about making the wider public and also the politicians that help support the tourism industry, know that our region is really important to our tourism industry.”
To enter (and win), Braidwood had to put an itinerary together showcasing its restaurants and hotels, to prove that it’s worthy of meeting the standards of a weekend away. Job done.
It should be said that Braidwood does not need any award to prove itself. Canberrans already know what a treasure it is.
