11th November 2022 By Staff Reporter | news@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker
Kohutapu Lodge and Tribal Tours has won the top award at the New Zealand Tourism Awards 2022.
The Māori-owned operator, based at Murupara in the Bay of Plenty, picked up the new Airbnb Regenerative Tourism Award, which recognises a tourism business that has the wellbeing of communities at its heart, with an excellent visitor experience at its core.
The prize was the most prestigious to be bestowed at the awards dinner at Claudelands in Kirikiriroa Hamilton last night, hosted by Tourism Industry Aotearoa.
Kohutapu Lodge and Tribal Tours, run by Karl and Nadine ToeToe, also won the Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust Community Engagement Award.
“It was humbling to hear how Kohutapu Lodge works closely with its community to ensure the business is living and breathing regenerative tourism, from educating visitors about te ao Māori to ensuring the survival of the longfin tuna,” said TIA chief executive Rebecca Ingram.
TIA said this year’s awards recognise individuals and organisations that are living the values of the Tourism Sustainability Commitment and celebrate environmentally sustainable and forward-thinking tourism businesses that embrace kaitiakitanga, or guardianship.
Among the evening’s winners were Jeroen Jongejans, who was posthumously awarded the Sir Jack Newman Outstanding Industry Leader Award, John Barrett of Kapiti Island Nature Tours, who picked up the Marsh Tourism Industry Champion Award, and Maverick Digital founder Alex Dykman, who won the PATA New Zealand Trust Emerging Leader Award.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving NZ Ltd in Queenstown took home the Tourism Talent Employer of Choice Award, Hollyford Wilderness Experience won the NZME Visitor Experience Award, and East by West Ferries in Wellington won the Environment Award.
“It was an absolute honour to witness so many incredible leaders and inspirational businesses being recognised for their hard work as we move into more optimistic times,” said Ingram.
“These businesses are leading the way and showing how our tourism industry can positively contribute to our communities while giving back more than it takes.”
The full list of New Zealand Tourism Awards 2022 winners:
The Airbnb Regenerative Tourism Award was won by Kohutapu Lodge and Tribal Tours, which recognises a tourism business that has an excellent visitor experience at its core and is a profitable enterprise that shows a high level of responsibility and community care.
The Sir Jack Newman Outstanding Industry Leader Award was awarded posthumously to Jeroen Jongejans. The late Jeroen was described as “a longtime campaigner for Northland tourism and Tutukaka Coast’s biggest cheerleader, a trailblazer and an entrepreneur”.
The Marsh Tourism Industry Champion Award was won by John Barrett of Kapiti Island Nature Tours, an outstanding individual who has dedicated his career to championing eco-tourism.
The PATA New Zealand Trust Emerging Leader Award was awarded to Alex Dykman, founder of Maverick Digital and co-founder of Grow Tourism. Judges said Alex is an inspirational tourism leader who has become the industry’s ‘go to’ person for all things digital.
The Tourism Talent Employer of Choice Award was won for the second year in a row by iFLY Indoor Skydiving NZ Ltd in Queenstown. “Examples abound of an inclusive environment, happy staff, happy customers, and the passion and leadership shown by the owner who puts staff welfare above everything else,” said the judges.
The Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust Community Engagement Award was picked up by Kohutapu Lodge and Tribal Tours. Despite losing 98% of their business due to Covid, they continued to focus on the community, including opening two new ventures and running life-changing soft skills courses for rangatahi.
The Department of Conservation – Conservation Award was won by The Landing, a Bay of Islands coastal property judges described as “extraordinary” following the planting of 1.25 million trees and significant improvements to kiwi habitat and population.
The Environment Award was won by East by West Ferries in Wellington for launching the Southern Hemisphere’s first zero-emission, fully electric, fast passenger ferry, which judges described as “a low intensity operation that screams ‘the future’.”
The Tourism New Zealand Industry Collaboration Award was won by Regional Tourism New Zealand for its Te Ūnga Mai programme, which is leading work to create a more regenerative tourism system by upskilling Regional Tourism Organisations.
The NZME Visitor Experience Award was picked up by the Hollyford Wilderness Experience for its immersive off-grid experience which weaves in tikanga and te reo to provide visitors with a powerful insight into the land.
The Westpac Resilience and Innovation Award was won by Queenstown’s Altitude Tours. Judges noted the excellent work in coordinating with other tourism businesses and called Altitude Tours “a proper tourism company – inspirational”.
The He Toa Takitini Māori Tourism Award was awarded to Kapiti Island Nature Tours, with the judges saying: “The whānau involved in this legacy business embodies all that is best in Māori tourism.”
