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Melbourne Museum wins top Award

Melbourne Museum was recently recognised as Australia’s best tourist attraction at the Australian Tourism Awards.

Visitors to Melbourne Museum in the Wild exhibition

The museum was awarded the 2012 Qantas Australian Tourism Award for Major Tourist Attraction, ahead of a strong field of nominees that included Sea World, Rottnest Island, Taronga Zoo and Kakadu National Park.

Museum Victoria CEO Patrick Greene said this was the first time Melbourne Museum had won the coveted Australian Tourism Award for Major Tourist Attraction. The museum won the award for Major Tourist Attraction the Victorian Tourism Awards in both 2011 and 2010.

The award recognised Melbourne Museum’s success in 2010/2011, a year during which the museum saw 1,428,238 visitors come through its doors – its highest-ever visitation. Of that number, an impressive 538,194 were regional, interstate and international tourists.

“The year was one of major achievement for Melbourne Museum, as we provided both Melburnians and tourists alike, an outstanding program of exhibitions and activities for people of all ages – and of course, free entry for children and concession card holders.”

Dr Greene said Melbourne Museum’s innovative permanent exhibitions combined with internationally acclaimed blockbuster exhibitions such as Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition and Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs had made it the country’s most popular museum.

“And now, Melbourne Museum has been recognised as Australia’s best tourist attraction.”

Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition attracted 480,879 visitors, while Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs last year became the most successful touring exhibition in Australian history with a record 796,277 visitors.

The Australian Tourism Awards are the tourism industry’s peak awards – recognising and promoting excellence in tourism.