Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) has announced the finalists for the 2024 New Zealand Tourism Awards, celebrating the winners tonight at a gala dinner after the TIA Summit closes.
Being held at the Cordis Auckland the awards showcase and celebrate the very best of New Zealand tourism’s individual and business successes.
Widely regarded as tourism’s must-attend thought leadership forum, the TIA Summit is a key event on the annual tourism calendar, bringing together more than 300 business and industry leaders from around the country. The theme this year is Visitor Experience (VX) in a Changing World.
The summit features talks from industry experts, panel discussions, and focused sessions taking deeper dives into key topics like driving growth and resilience through strong governance, visitor experience (VX), design, and gathering data and insights.
TIA Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram says in just five years, the experience for visitors in Aotearoa New Zealand could be quite different from what they are today.
Technology, Travel & Visitor Experience
“The future visitor experience will continue to be grounded on Aotearoa New Zealand’s landscape and people. However, this will be enriched by a wide range of technologies making travel easier, more informed and more connected. These changes can deepen the experience in ways adding value for our visitors and the industry itself,” Ms Ingram says.
The TIA has released a white paper on Visitor Experience in a Changing World exploring changing visitor demographics, with a future driven by younger people who are more digitally aware, along with new markets from the emerging global middle class. It also scopes potential impacts of emerging technologies, likely to change nearly everything in terms of how tourism works.
“All indications are for the role of technology in tourism to accelerate – and this will create so much opportunity for some truly remarkable experiences – as well as industry productivity.
“However, Aotearoa New Zealand must be competitive in a global context. Tourism is a key economic pillar for many countries, so to be successful, we must provide a complete experience for visitors, while ensuring access to markets and air connectivity to enable people to get here. How we turn up in the world matters,” Ms Ingram emphasised.
Finalists Display Inspiration
The 47 Tourism Award finalists were drawn from over 120 entrants and include Kiwi businesses operating at global scale to a deeply personal offering by a single guide, providing a unique experience of people, place and environment. Ms Ingram says the breadth and quality of the entries are increasing year on year – indicating the industry’s commitment to providing outstanding tourism.
“Aotearoa New Zealand is one of those places people from around the world dream about visiting. This is the industry’s way of recognising the people who deliver, and keep improving on, these experiences.
“These finalists are setting incredibly high standards – and serve as both an inspiration and benchmark for the industry,” Ingram said.
Many of the categories were closely contested, with careful consideration to select the finalists. Three of the categories acknowledge outstanding performers in the industry, and ten awards recognise business excellence, industry alignment and values that are in line with the Tourism Sustainability Commitment.
“Not only are all of the finalists great operators in terms of what they offer, they are also judged on their positive impact on local communities, how they restore and protect our natural environment, and how they build economic sustainability,” Ingram says.
New Zealand Tourism Awards 2024:
Categories and Finalists
Wayfinder Community Engagement Award 2024
• Christchurch Adventure Park
• iFLY Indoor Skydiving
• Tohu Experiences
• Tūhura Otago Museum
NZME Visitor Experience Award 2024
• Hobbiton Movie Set
• New Zealand Trails
• Tauhara North Tourism – Te Pā Tū
• The Landing
Tourism Talent Employer of Choice Award 2024
• GO Rentals
• Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa
• Kohutapu Lodge & Tribal Tours Ltd
• Millbrook Resort
Tourism Excellence Award (Micro Business) 2024
• Huka Falls River Cruise
• Kohutapu Lodge & Tribal Tours Ltd
• Terra and Tide
• The Seventh Generation
Tourism Excellence Award (Small-Medium Business) 2024
• Hell’s Gate
• Ōpuke Thermal Pools & Spa
• Tauhara North Tourism – Te Pā Tū
• Ziptrek Ecotours
Johnston’s Coachlines Tourism Excellence Award (Large Business) 2024
• Discover Waitomo
• GO Rentals
• Hobbiton Movie Set
• RealNZ
KiwiRail Tourism Environment Award 2024
• RealNZ
• The Headwaters Eco Lodge
• Wellington Airport
• Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne
Toroa ā-uta, Toroa ā-tai Māori Tourism Award 2024
• Kapiti Island Nature Tours
• Kohutapu Lodge & Tribal Tours Ltd
• The MDA group
• Tio Ōhiwa Harbour Cruise & Oyster Experience
*Sponsored by New Zealand Māori Tourism
Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust Industry Collaboration and Alignment Award 2024
• Kohutapu Lodge & Tribal Tours Ltd
• The Hotel Britomart
• Tourism Bay of Plenty – Flavours of Plenty
• Tourism Bay of Plenty - The Green Room
Resilience and Innovation Award 2024
• GO Rentals
• Hobbiton Movie Set
• LyLo Operations NZ Limited
• Ōpuke Thermal Pools and Spa
The Air New Zealand Supreme Tourism Award will be selected from these ten business award winners and will be presented at the Gala Dinner.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Auckland Airport Tourism Industry Champion Award 2024
• Gavin M. Faull, Swiss-Belhotel International
• David Kennedy, International Antarctic Centre
• Nadine ToeToe, Kohutapu Lodge & Tribal Tours Ltd
Emerging Tourism Leader Award 2024
• Charlotte Laurentin, Millbrook Resort
• Anne Newman, Christchurch Adventure Park
• James Stokes, Glenorchy Air
• Zac Watson, Maverick Digital Tourism Marketing
The Sir Jack Newman Award for Outstanding Industry Leader will also be presented at the Gala Dinner.
The full whitepaper, Visitor Experience in a Changing World, is downloadable, for free, from the TIA website here:Visitor-Experience-in-a-Changing-World_TIA.pdf
