The marketing campaign for a blockbuster Elvis exhibition at the Bendigo Art Gallery has taken out a gold medal at a national tourism awards.

City of Bendigo was among a number of councils recognised at the recently announced Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.

Bendigo took out the top gong in the Best Tourism Marketing and Campaigns category for its Viva Bendigo themed campaign around the hugely popular Elvis: Direct from Graceland exhibition at Bendigo Art Gallery in 2022.

The campaign focused on getting visitors to the exhibition to extend their stay with more than 100 Elvis-themed events, accommodation packages and experiences.

City staff worked with local tourism operators and businesses for the campaign, which led to 90,000 downloads of the program during the Elvis exhibition, Council said.

The City also sold 1,848  Viva Bendigo accommodation packages and 1,175 tickets to special events and tours.

“The Viva Bendigo campaign brought Elvis fever to the region with many fun experiences, events, shows, music and attractions, together with themed food and drink menus fit for a king,” Mr Karamaloudis said.

City Manager Tourism and Major Events Terry Karamaloudis said the campaign aimed to celebrate Elvis in a variety of ways.

 “It was a fantastic way to activate the area and draw people to the city centre to shop, dine, stay longer and enjoy the surroundings,” he said.

He said the City was also proud to accept a bronze medal for the Bendigo Visitor Centre in the Visitor Information Services category, with Quilpie Shire’s visitor information centre, museum and gallery in outback Queensland scoring Silver.

Midcoast Council in NSW took home the silver medal for tourism marketing for its Destination Barrington Coast  campaign.

The 2022 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards were announced in Sydney on March 17.

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