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ALBURY has taken out another honour to be named the sixth most popular city in NSW, according to Wotif.com’s 2012 top destination list this week.
The results have upset a Wollongong tourism boss who labelled Albury as “being in the middle of nowhere” after the Border city polled one place higher.
Albury Council tourism team leader Sue Harper objected to the comment — and so do we.
WHAT THE ILLAWARRA MERCURY SAYS: 'Albury's good for a toilet spot'.
“Yes, we are inland and don’t have the seaside as an attraction, but we do extremely well, just look at where we placed,” Ms Harper said.
“We have some great attractions and our domestic overnight visitation numbers have increased, as well as our international visitation numbers.”
Perhaps the Wollongong locals should note that in spite of their “world class coastline”, the wotif.com results come just days after the Border was ranked the nation’s fourth-most family friendly place.
Poor old Wollongong placed a paltry 21st in the same poll.
So much for Albury not being invited to drinks; we’re having our very own party down here — and with a better class of guests.
Albury’s ranking is no surprise to Albury mayor Alice Glachan, though she is diplomatic about it.
“Clearly Wollongong has many natural assets, however Albury also has a great deal of natural and heritage assets,” she said.
“This result coupled with being ranked the fourth most family friendly city, we are delighted to achieve these results.”
Even Wollongong tourism boss Mark Sleigh yesterday reneged on his earlier criticism of Albury when an Illawarra Mercury reader pointed out the coastal city’s coal mines, dirty industry and overcrowded roads.
“I think Albury is a fabulous town, and they are doing a fantastic job building their tourist economy,” he said.
“The point I was making, which was lost in the isolated comment, was the tourism proposition of Albury is completely different to that of Wollongong.”
As for the Dapto dogs ranking among Wollongong’s top five attractions, Albury farewelled the dishlickers long ago for a better class of racing entertainment at its annual award-winning Gold Cup meeting in March.
So there!
The Border Mail yesterday took up the challenge from its regional counterpart, Wollongong’s Illawarra Mercury, where journalists were suitably cheesed off at their city losing its spot to Albury among the top tourism destinations in NSW. We believe Albury’s ranking at number six, ahead of Wollongong at seven is a lay-down misere