IN FOCUS: Best in the business – Tassie’s top tourist towns

The Doughboys, Cape Grim, Tourism Tasmania & Kraig Carlstrom

Two very different Tasmanian towns with one very similar story about the power of collaboration are celebrating a new-found popularity as a destination of choice.

New Norfolk and Stanley are in the running for national success after being named Tassie’s Top Tourism Town 2021 for populations over 5000 and under 5000 residents respectively. Towns across the state were invited to submit an entry including a 2-minute video, a suggested itinerary and an editorial to showcase the unique experiences and features of the town and local region. A panel of tourism professionals and 10,000 Tasmanian public votes decided the winners from 10 finalists.

Common themes of pride and passion, community and collaboration were contained in the winning entries, which will now be judged against winners from across the country. Kerry Houston, the owner of the much lauded Ship Inn Stanley, coordinated Stanley’s entry. It targeted urban dwellers in need of an escape to a remote, isolated and peaceful place, with warm hospitality from salt-of-theearth Tasmanians.

Stanley Village, Lusy Productions

“The locals intrinsically know that you go to the Brown Dog for savoury toast if you are a little hungover and we refer to anything smaller than a sedan as a bus,” she laughs.

Kerry focussed on those mannerisms with a quirky and fun entry that also gave the locals a good reminder about offerings in their own backyard that they perhaps take for granted, she admits.

“Our entry was a hub and spoke approach with Stanley as the hub focussing on The Nut and the Highfield Historic House as well as our gorgeous galleries and cafes, the amazing seafood and Cape Grim Beef that’s right at our doorstep and the Stanley Hotel which just won THA awards for their great food and service. Then there were things like the fact the little penguins come in every night and you can see them from the viewing platform, the beaches are beautiful for walking on and you can ride 5km on the hard sand at low tide.”

The submission also included places like Blue Hills Honey, Trowutta Arch, Arthur River, Rocky Cape and Wynyard further afield. West by North West Chief Executive Officer, Tom Wootton, says the creative collaborative process enjoyed by groups when developing awards submissions was a major positive, regardless of result.

Shingles Riverside Cottages, Veronica Youd

“Every time a community selfreflects and articulates what makes it special, it leads to a sort of identify-refinement and a deepening of self-belief,” Tom explains.

“Through advice from Tourism Tasmania and Brand Tasmania, Stanley have explored what their culture is about and what the visitor feels when they arrive.”

Continues Kerry: “Stanley has an incredible sense of community. For example we lost some lovely restaurants as a result of COVID and when the hotel closed its doors for a little while to refurbish over winter the community got together and organised a little pop-up restaurant to give tourists an option for their dining which was really special.”

At the other end of the state is New Norfolk, a town that emerged from its historic industrial connotations to become a unique visitor destination for foodies and fun-seekers.

New Norfolk’s entry was facilitated by Fiona Weaver, who has operated Tassie Bound Adventure Tours for the past ten years, offering outings including kayaking Lake Pedder or paddling with platypus on the River Derwent.

Her husband Liam grew up at nearby Lachlan and with her work history in adventure tourism, she had experienced how tourism can change an area. She was part of a group to develop the Derwent Action Plan more than 5 years ago to start creating a new story and contemporary brand for the area.

Maydena Bike Park, Stu Gibson

Highfield House, Poon Wai Nang

“Years ago the town hoped to attract tourists off the cruise ships for a day trip but you can now base yourself in New Norfolk and stay for a few days, or a week, with all the day trips on offer. New experiences like Maydena Bike Park, the natural assets of the Big Tree Reserve and the drive out to Strathgordon and Lake Pedder are must sees for active travellers.

“The awards process was a wonderful opportunity to showcase the investment that many of us here have been putting in for many years. People are familiar with Mount Field, Salmon Ponds and the Agrarian Kitchen but we also have many new boutique shops and cafes, a Saturday market in the High St, para-normal tours, waterbased tours, wineries and distilleries, the Derwent Valley Arts Community is also active every weekend over at Willow Court and the National Park Pub has live music now - there certainly is a new energy and optimism.”

Community collaboration is the key to success if you look at the example of both winning towns.

“Rather than seeing other people and business as competition it is about making the pie bigger for everyone,” Fiona says “It is exciting to see it in a whole new light and be recognised as a tourism town and I don’t think we saw it like this as locals until recently. “When people work together over time with support from the government and the council, it can really lead to great outcomes.”

National winners will be announced in September and the search for next year’s Tassie Top Tourism Town will begin in early 2022.