Geraldton named a finalist in 2026 7NEWS Top Tourism Town Awards after four years of finishing second

After four years of finishing runner-up in the 7NEWS Top Tourism Town Awards, could 2026 be the moment that Geraldton finally gets its golden moment in the sun?

Geraldton is again a finalist in this year’s awards.

It is now up to the public to cast their vote for the 2026 winners.

There are three categories in the awards scheme, recognising WA’s top tourism town, small town and tiny town, with 13 towns named as finalists across the board.

Geraldton is going up against Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Kununurra for the top tourism town gong. Jurien Bay, Carnarvon, Harvey and York are the finalists in the small tourism town category, while for the tiny tourism town the finalists vying for the honours are Kalbarri, Coral Bay, Gascoyne Junction, New Norcia, Pemberton and Walpole.

City of Greater Geraldton mayor Jerry Clune encouraged everyone to get involved and vote for Geraldton.

“Geraldton has really ramped things up on the tourism front over the last 12 months with the launch of our Stay and Play destination marketing campaign,” he said

“We all know Geraldton provides the best of coastal city attractions for families, and after receiving silver for the last four years, significantly more people are stopping off to experience the wonders of our region.”

Tourism Council WA CEO Evan Hall said, “The 7NEWS Top Tourism Town Awards gives everyone the chance to recognise towns for the way they welcome and look after their visitors — it’s a wonderful way to give back to the places that mean so much to us.”

From 9am on April 2, the public could vote for their favourite town or city and go into the draw to win a $5000 holiday in Western Australia or a $500 voucher at any RAC Park or Resort online.

The general public’s votes are combined with votes from an industry panel of judges to decide which destinations will receive the winning titles.

Geraldton has been named a finalist in the category for towns with a ‘population over 5000 people’ and, if successful, will secure a $20,000 television advertising package to market their destination.

Visit toptourismtownwa.com.au to cast your vote. Voting closes at 5pm on May 1.

Winners will be announced at the 2026 Perth Airport WA Tourism Conference Dinner in Carnarvon on May 26.