The King Valley town of Whitfield has been awarded bronze at the 2025 Victorian Top Tourism Town Awards, in the tiny town category. Representatives from the King Valley Tourism Association (KVTA) attended the Victorian Tourism Industry Council awards ceremony in Melbourne this week, where they were thrilled to collect the award, along with Rural City of Wangaratta councillor Harry Bussell. KVTA president Karen Barber said it was a wonderful night, with awards presented across three town size categories including tiny town, for those with a population under 1500. She said while they were a little disappointed not to pick up gold, given there were nine finalists in the category and it was the first time they'd entered, it was a considerable achievement. "We're really happy and the whole town is really proud," she said. "And we're not stopping here - we're already talking about our entry in 2026 and how we can go for gold - we've already done the hard work so it will just need some tweaking next time. "The best part about it has been watching the community band together - the locals have been amazing, sharing and voting and cheering us on - they've really been great." Ms Barber said it was a win for the entire King Valley and its tourism industry, which was in need of a boost. She said the publicity which came from being a finalist and now a bronze winner, had already driven a number first time visitors to come to Whitfield and explore the King Valley. Taking out gold at this year's awards in the Tiny Tourism Town category was Trentham, with Halls Gap picking up silver.
