Gold win for Margaret River Region Open Studios at WA Tourism Awards
Margaret River Region Open Studios has won Gold for the second time at the Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards in the Festivals and Events category.
Announced at a Gala Dinner on Saturday night at Crown Perth, the awards recognise the best of the Western Australian tourism industry and showcase the innovation and dedication to business excellence of the State’s leading tourism operators.
MRROS will go on to represent Western Australia at the Australian Tourism Awards in Adelaide next March.
The Award submission was based on the 10th anniversary 2023 Open Studios event. Event Chair Jim Davies said it was gratifying to win Gold at the Tourism Awards for a second time. The event previously won gold two years ago for the 2021 event (the event did not enter last year).
“There are many people involved in making Margaret River Region Open Studios possible,” he said, “from our volunteer board to our dedicated administrators, marketing team, funding bodies and sponsors.
“But the real heroes of this event are our artists who open their studios to visitors for two weeks. They start preparing several months in advance, creating new work, sprucing up their studios and sharing their art with thousands of visitors.
“This award goes to prove art is well and truly alive in the South West, and is a major drawcard for visitors.”
Jim said Margaret River Region Open Studios’ September 2024 event had also been a winning year, with results just tallied.
“Our visitor and artist surveys have recorded more than 110,000 studio visits and just over $2 million worth of art sold during the 16-day event,” he said.
More than half of the visitors to Open Studios came from outside of the Margaret River Region and each spent an average of three to four days visiting eight studios.
The event achieved a remarkable net promotor score this year of +85 with 98 percent of visitors saying MRROS met their expectations and 95 percent said they were likely to return in 2025.
MRROS features painters, potters, printmakers, photographers, mosaicists, mixed media artists, metalwork and timber craftspeople, textile creators, illustrators, installation artists, sculptors, glassmakers, jewellers, textile makers, upcyclers, ceramicists, and furniture makers from Busselton to Augusta.
In 2025 MRROS will be held from 13 to 28 September.
Margaret River Region Open Studios is made possible thanks to presenting partner Private Properties, Department of Local Government, Sport and Creative Industries, Tourism Western Australia, Jacksons Drawing Supplies, Rio Tinto, Swings & Roundabouts, City of Busselton and the Shire of Augusta Margaret River.
