sovereignhill

Sovereign Hill Strikes Gold Winning Title of Australia’s Best Tourist Attraction

Announced in Darwin at a gala ceremony, the prestigious awards recognise Sovereign Hill’s efforts in delivering a gold class tourism experience for visitors both locally and overseas.

The award comes on the back of Sovereign Hill winning Victoria’s Major Tourist Attraction at the RACV Victorian Tourism Awards last year for the third year running. In addition, Sovereign Hill was awarded RACV People’s Choice for Favourite Regional Attraction Experience for a second year, and its signature event ‘Christmas in July’ was awarded silver in the Major Festival and Events category.

CEO Jeremy Johnson credits this latest win to innovative events like Winter Wonderlights, and the way in which the outdoor museum really brings the Goldfields story alive.

“We continuously strive to deliver engaging and entertaining experiences to our visitors, and are proud that our innovation, through events like Winter Wonderlights, has been recognised.”

“Not only is this win a credit to the staff and volunteers who work to deliver an innovative, authentic experience at Sovereign Hill, but also wonderful recognition from our visitors, who continue to visit Sovereign Hill every year.”

In 2015/16, Sovereign Hill attracted over 750,000 admissions, making it one of the largest attractions in regional Victoria. Its award-winning reputation draws tourists to Ballarat who may otherwise not have visited the region.

This is the fourth time that Sovereign Hill has won the National Award, winning the title of Major Tourist Attraction in 2015, 1993 and 2005 also. Judged on its service culture, a sound business plan and innovative marketing program, as well as its role within the community, Sovereign Hill was judged by a panel of industry professionals and beat out other well-known attractions in the category for the Major Tourist Attraction Award.

Gold! Gold! Gold! It’s a Hat-trick in 2016

- RACV People’s Choice for Favourite Regional Attraction Experience
- Victoria’s Major Tourist Attraction

Sovereign Hill has just had another amazing night of success at the Victorian Tourism Awards.

On Thursday, 24 November, at the 2016 RACV Victorian Tourism Awards, we were named Victoria’s Major Tourist Attraction, winning the Gold Award for the third consecutive year, and gaining us Hall of Fame status (again) for this category.

We were also awarded Silver for our ‘Christmas in July: Winter Wonderlights’ event, and we won the RACV People’s Choice Award for Favourite Regional Attraction Experience for the second year in a row.

This is a wonderful recognition of the efforts of our staff and volunteers in so consistently delivering excellence in visitor experiences across all our markets. And we owe a huge thank you to all our visitors for their continued support!

We now go on to represent Victoria at the Qantas 2016 Australian Tourism Awards next February, in Darwin, where we will hope for another success at national level (having won the national award for Major Attraction in 2015).

2015 Qantas Australia National Tourism Awards
- Major Tourist Attraction

On Friday 5 February at the 2015 Qantas Australia National Tourism Awards at a gala awards ceremony, Sovereign Hill was named Australia’s Major Tourist Attraction.

This achievement reflects great credit on the enduring quality of our cultural and heritage tourism experience. In 2014/15, Sovereign Hill attracted over 700,000 admissions, making it one of the largest attractions in regional Victoria. Its award-winning reputation draws tourists to Ballarat who may otherwise not have visited the region.

This is the third time that Sovereign Hill has won the National Award, winning the title of Major Tourist Attraction in 1993 and 2005 also. Judged on its service culture, a sound business plan and innovative marketing program, as well as its role within the community, Sovereign Hill was judged by a panel of industry professionals and beat out other well-known attractions including Port Arthur Historic Site and Taronga Zoo in the category for the Major Tourist Attraction Award.

2015 RACV Victorian Tourism Awards
- RACV People’s Choice for Favourite Regional Attraction Experience
- Victoria’s Major Tourist Attraction

At the 2015 RACV Victorian Tourism Awards event in Melbourne, Sovereign Hill won two significant major awards.

Firstly, we were adjudged as the RACV People’s Choice for Favourite Regional Attraction Experience. This was a new category, voted on by the visiting public who obviously enjoyed coming here and supporting us!

Secondly, we were crowned as Victoria’s Major Tourist Attraction for the second year running. We now move to the National Awards in February 2016 as Victoria’s winning entrant in this category. The challenge continues to grow!

Both achievements are a credit to our Board, management, staff and volunteers who all contribute so much to our unique museum. Cultural tourism is a key driver for Victoria, and Sovereign Hill is a vital component of this sector.

We are thrilled that Sovereign Hill has been recognised through these awards. We continuously strive to deliver new experiences to our visitors and we are proud that our innovative achievements, through events like ‘Christmas in July’, have been recognised.

We also thank our visitors who not only voted for us in the People’s Choice Award, but continue to visit Sovereign Hill each year.