NSW towns vie for tourism prize
Two Central West towns, Orange and Forbes, are finalists in the 2026 NSW Top Tourism Town Awards, with winners set to move on to the national round — a neat signal if you prefer quieter regional trips to busy capitals. (Daily Liberal on Orange and Forbes, South Coast Register on the Central West shortlist).
Orange and Forbes are both still alive in a state tourism contest that now looks a lot like a Central West showdown, with four towns from the region making the 2026 New South Wales Top Tourism Town shortlist. (nswtourismassociation.com.au, southcoastregister.com.au) The awards split towns by size, so Orange and Forbes are competing in the main Top Tourism Town category for places with populations above 5,000, while nearby Gulgong and Millthorpe are in smaller categories. (orange.nsw.gov.au, parkesphoenix.com.au, nswtourismassociation.com.au) This is not just an online popularity poll. Towns are nominated by local councils, accredited visitor information centres, or local tourism groups, and they have to submit an itinerary, a video, and a tourism website with bookable products. (nswtourismassociation.com.au, destinationnsw.com.au) The public still gets a say through the NRMA People’s Choice vote, which opened on April 1, 2026 and runs until May 3, 2026. (orange.nsw.gov.au, destinationnsw.com.au, nswtourismassoc.kartra.com) Forbes is up against Ballina, Moree, Shellharbour, Coffs Harbour, Kiama, Orange, and Wollongong in that top category, so the contest mixes inland river towns with big-name coastal destinations and larger regional centres. (parkesphoenix.com.au, publicnow.com) Orange has been pushing the campaign as a regional vote, not just a city one, with Orange City Council also urging support for Millthorpe in the Tiny Tourism Town category. (orange.nsw.gov.au) That regional framing makes sense because the Central West already has recent form in these awards: Millthorpe won bronze and the People’s Choice award in the Tiny Tourism Town category in May 2025. (villagevoice.net.au) The prize is bigger than a state trophy. The New South Wales winners go on to represent the state at the Australian Top Tourism Town Awards, where the 2025 national winners were announced on September 3 at Parliament House in Canberra. (toptourismtowns.com.au, destinationnsw.com.au) So the immediate story is a local rivalry, but the subtext is that New South Wales tourism bodies are using these awards to sell regional trips with ready-made itineraries, bookable stays, and a cleaner pitch than “come for a day.” Orange and Forbes are on that shortlist because they are being judged as complete visitor packages, not just pretty towns on a map. (nswtourismassociation.com.au, destinationnsw.com.au, dailyliberal.com.au)
