The 220-person town was nominated for the Top Town under 5000 people category in April, and last week named as a finalist with voting closing on Friday May 14 for the top spot.

Hilltops Council Tourism and Events manager Brent Randall said the town had seen an 'avalanche' of national interest after their Hollywood visitor, but added years of investment from businesses into a mixture of tourism offerings was also driving increasing interest in the area.

"There's absolutely no questions that his visit brought the town to national attention," Mr Randall said. "The following that Matt Damon has and the social media interest and traditional media... its been like an avalanche and its just the perfect storm in terms of timing."

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"It's one of those stories of being an overnight success that's taken years. Its been a number of years since the businesses set about growing their offerings and now they're reaping the benefits."

Jugiong and the wider area including Wagga and surrounding towns have seen tourism boom over the COVID period as international travel bans forces Aussies to explore local townships.

"We've seen an increase in visitors to the whole region with regards to COVID for the last nearly 12 months," Mr Randall said. "Because of COVID people are reluctant to travel interstate."

Matt Damon dropped by local eatery the Long Track Pantry in Jugiong April where he was photographed with a lucky fan.

He's not the only Hollywood actor being spotted across Australia recently, with Zac Efron spotted in Dubbo and the next Mad Max film slated to be filmed in Hay.

Votes for Top Town can be cast at this link.

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