A Highlands event has achieved a slice of success at a national awards night.
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Pie Time won Australia's best tourism marketing campaign at the QANTAS Australia Tourism Awards, held in Launceston on Saturday night.
The award was the first gold honour for a Southern Highlands event, since the inception of the awards in 1985.
Destination Southern Highlands tourism manager Steve Rosa said the award was a win for the Southern Highlands and the wider Canberra region.
“Taking home this award is a real achievement for our local industry and our passionate team of tourism marketing staff and operators who have been turning the Southern Highlands into the Southern Pie-lands for the 30 days of June over the last two years," Mr Rosa said.
"Creativity, innovation and grass roots collaboration between council and our local tourism industry were singled out as reasons this marketing initiative has been judged Australia's best."
Pie Time beat several competitors to take out the top honour, including the Driving the Great Barrier Reef, Destination Yorke Peninsula and NSW’s own Shoalhaven Tourism 100 Beaches campaign.
Mr Rosa said the award would serve as further motivation for the future of Pie Time.
“Coming into year three of this program, we will be looking to use this award as a shot in the arm for our industry and use it to further motivate and stir the creative juices that have been part of our winning recipe since 2017," he said.
"Tourism is everybody's business and touches every part of our local economy supporting local jobs and attracting valuable investment in our region.
"I am predicting that Pie Time will continue to be an important part of our plans for many years to come.”
The awards showcased the best outstanding customer service, innovation and ongoing business excellence in tourism, and were presented in front of industry peers and officials from across Australia.
More than 200 of Australia’s leading tourism businesses were finalists with 30 taking out the top honour in their respective categories.
Pie Time runs for 30 days throughout June and provides visitors with hundreds of ways to experience the great Australian pie.
From the pie awards, dine with a pie experiences, pie tours, pie and pinot tastings and Australia’s largest PieFest weekend, the Pie Time calendar provides a variety of ways to promote the Highlands region.
