Magic Travellers Network wins Top Award in New Zealand Tourism Industry Awards

New Zealand’s top tourist operators have been recognised in the country’s annual Tourism Industry Awards with a flexi travel network taking out the supreme prize for 2008.

Magic Travellers Network, which runs a fleet of hop on hop off coaches for independent international travellers, received the Air New Zealand Supreme Award at a special ceremony in the South Island city of Christchurch on Monday.

The Tourism Industry Awards recognise the tourism industry’s top performers and celebrate the achievements of the industry as a whole.  This year’s awards reflected the industry’s commitment to sustainability and rewarded businesses with a future-focus on sustainable business practice.

"The winners of these awards are dedicated to the pursuit of business excellence. With companies like these driving the future of tourism in New Zealand, we can be confident that the industry can overcome some of the challenges created by a changing global market," said Tourism Industry Association Chief Executive Tim Cossar.

Major category award winners:

Agrodome (Rotorua) - Visitor Activities and Attractions 
Grand Mercure St Moritz (Queenstown)- Visitor Accommodation 
Magic Travellers Network - Tourism and Transportation

Other significant award winners included: 

Philips Innovation Award - Air NZ Grabaseat 
Westpac Small Tourism Operator Award - Skydive Lake Wanaka Ltd 
Department of Conservation (DOC) Conservation in Action Award - Karori Sanctuary, Wellington.

Special award recipients:

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise Export Award - Real Journeys (Fiordland) 
Green Globe Sustainability Award - The Langham Hotel, Auckland 
Qualmark Mark of Quality Award - Magic Travellers Network.

Individual awards were presented to William Goodfellow from Explore New Zealand - PATA Young Tourism Professional of the Year, and Kiyomi Gunji, Southern Travel Holdings - the Horwath Sir Jack Newman Award for services to the industry.

The Tourism Industry Awards are supported by Tourism New Zealand. In 2009, one criteria of entry to the Awards will be that a business must have Qualmark accreditation if applicable. The Qualmark logo is New Zealand’s Mark of Quality to the international market.

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