Knowing the answer to this, and a thousand other questions, helped score Bathurst Visitor Information Centre a silver medal at the Inland Tourism Awards on Saturday.

The 11th annual awards recognise the best of the best of regional tourism operators and attractions across NSW and Victoria.

Bathurst Visitor Information Centre manager Trish Hays, who has worked in tourism for 20 years, said she and the other centre staff were “chuffed about the whole thing”.

 "It’s a reflection on what we do and how we do it,” she said.

While they were one of six regional visitor information centres to self-nominate for the Visitor Information and Services category, judging was strict.

“It’s not just how many souvenirs we sell, and how many maps we give out,” she said.

Mrs Hays said they completed a 30-page submission before judges headed out to Bathurst to assess their worthiness for an award.

“We’re great at what we do,” she said.

“A lot of it is customer service because if you don’t have customers you don’t have a business.”

Mrs Hays said a map and information on where to stay are among the top requests at the centre, but sometimes questions veer off the beaten track.

“If someone wants a hairdresser because they’re going to a wedding, we’ll do our darndest to find it,” she said. 

Questions about the iconic Mount Panorama remain top of the list for many travellers to the city, according to Mrs Hays.

“To us it’s just the hill out the back, but for people to see it and know they can drive on it, it’s just another aspect,” she said.

Not only are the centre’s five full-time and casual staff a wealth of knowledge on where to eat, play and stay in Bathurst, but they have also produced publications on Mount Panorama and Chifley Dam.