Tourism accolade
The Australian Wooden Boat Festival, the biennial event in Hobart celebrating wooden boats of all kinds, has won Gold and the People’s Choice Awards at this year’s Tasmanian Tourism Awards.
Photography by AWBF
03 November 2025
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The Australian Wooden Boat Festival (AWBF) has achieved double honours at the 2025 Tasmanian Tourism Awards Gala, held at Wrest Point Hotel on Friday 31 October — winning Gold in the Major Festivals and Events category and coming first in the People’s Choice Awards.
The recognition celebrates AWBF’s commitment to showcasing the heritage, craftsmanship, and culture of wooden boats through an inclusive and globally recognised Tasmanian festival that continues to grow in scope and impact.
“Winning Gold and the People’s Choice Award in the same year is an incredible honour,” said AWBF General Manager and Festival Director Paul Stephanus.
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“It’s a tribute to the people who make the festival what it is, our staff and board, volunteers, boat owners, partners and supporters, and to everyone who voted for us. Now we’re off to the national stage, representing Tasmania at the Australian Tourism Awards in 2026.”
Born in 1994 from a shared love of wooden boats, AWBF has become the Southern Hemisphere’s premier celebration of wooden boats and maritime culture and Tasmania’s largest free festival, both grand in spectacle and intimate in spirit.
Today, the biennial event extends well beyond the waterfront, featuring an expanded arts program of exhibitions, films, theatre, and family-friendly fun alongside its much-loved flotilla of wooden boats.
The 2025 festival attracted over 56,000 visitations across four days, with participants and guests travelling from across Australia and around the globe.
The 2027 AWBF will be held 5 to 8 February 2027 in Hobart, Tasmania.
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