Queenstown on Tasmania’s West-Coast takes out Australia’s Top Small Tourism Town award

Once better known for its ‘moonscape’ and gravel football field, an unlikely Tasmanian town has taken out one of the nation’s top tourism gongs.

Queenstown main street. Picture: Peter Mathew

Once better known for its ‘moonscape’ and gravel football field, an unlikely Tasmanian town has taken out one of the nation’s top tourism gongs.

Queenstown, a heritage township on Tasmania’s rugged West-Coast, was on Thursday awarded Australia’s Top Small Tourism Town for 2023 at a special awards ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania CEO Amy Hills, said the achievement was something the entire state should be proud of.

“Our regional towns in Tasmania have a true sense of community and play such a crucial role in our state’s visitor economy, and for Queenstown to take out Gold on the national stage just shows how well we do things in Tasmania,” Ms Hills said.

“Queenstown offers an unforgettable experience for travellers. It has rich heritage, is home to a vibrant arts precinct, century-old steam train, and breathtaking views.

“Queenstown now joins the growing list of Tasmanian towns that have taken out Bronze, Silver and Gold at the National Awards, including Stanley, New Norfolk, Strahan, and Sheffield.”

West Coast Council Mayor Shane Pitt said the nod was “a credit to everyone’s hard work on the West-Coast”.

“It’s a great accolade for the West-Coast and we’ve had some hard times but tourism is on a spectacular rise for Queenstown,” Mr Pitt said.

“When the Mount Lyell copper mine went into care of maintenance it was an opportunity for council to look at how we could diversify the economy.

“We had actually consulted tourism leaders from Queenstown in New Zealand, who showed us a presentation about how the former mining town itself became the adventure capital of the world.

“We started out by bringing in the keen mountain bikers and eventually diversifying our arts and culture offering and now, Queenstown has become a major tourism destination for people travelling in Tasmania.”

Mr Pitt said the arts scene in the former industrial township was now “booming” and “there are a lot more artists on the West-Coast than ever before”.

He said festivals like The Unconformity and organisations like Destination West Coast achieved “huge things” for Queenstown.

The National Top Tourism Town Awards program was hosted by the Australia Tourism Industry Council (ATIC), the national peak body which provides leadership and representation through a national voice for tourism.

The winning towns were determined by a national judging panel and incorporated consumer review scores for tourism products within each town.