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The Heart of Mangoes Bowen, in The Whitsundays was today announced as a shortlisted destination in the online travel site Wotif’s ‘Festival of Wot?’.

The Bowen Special or Kensington Pride Mango was born in Bowen. The original tree emerged in the late 1880s, although the fruit was not formally described until the 1960s. The Bowen region produces 1.8 million trays of mangoes annually through the mango season, November – January equalling $63 million in retail value. Needless to say, Mangoes are big business in Bowen.

Tourism Whitsundays CEO, Tash Wheeler believes it’s high time a mango festival was celebrated in the Heart of Mango country.

“You can’t think of Mangoes without thinking of Bowen, it is the Heart of Mangoes and is synonymous with this delicious summer fruit. What better way to celebrate one of the many things that makes Bowen so special?

“We believe this will be a huge draw card for our regional drive market, this is a festival all of North Queensland can get behind.”

Following the success of its ‘Next Big Thing’ campaign in 2018, Wotif announced its latest drive to encourage Aussies to take the off ramp and spend more time discovering destinations beyond their tried and tested favourites. After receiving thousands of ideas from across the country, Bowen, Qld; Mudgee, NSW; Maryborough QLD; or Clare Valley, SA could soon be home to a new local festival to call their own.

Whitsunday Regional Council, Mayor Andrew Willcox said he was excited at the prospect of showcasing Bowen’s love of mangoes.

“Bowen is famous for being the Heart of Mangoes so it’s a no-brainer we would host the Festival of Mangoes event.

“We’re thrilled to be shortlisted for Wotif’s Festival of Wot and to have the opportunity to showcase our region’s amazing produce through this festival.”

Wotif Managing Director, Daniel Finch congratulated Australia on a wave of excellent entries, highlighting the best that this country has to offer.

“We can’t wait to see which festival Australia gets behind and we’re looking forward to working with the winning town to create an experience that locals will love and is worth travelling for.

“Our research confirms festivals are a proven way to support local economies and the ‘Festival of Wot?’ aims to showcase one of these excellent destinations by giving Aussies a great new reason to explore it.”

With the vote now in the hands of the Australian public, it’s up to the country to decide which festival should take place, with Wotif set to bring the festival to life before the year’s end. The one-day festival will bring together local business owners, community groups and tourists from right across Australia to celebrate the winning town’s unique claim to fame.

Voting is open to the public now through Wotif.com/festival. Voting closes 29th September.