Waihi Beach among most sustainable tourism destinations worldwide

Recently replanted dunes at Waihi Beach frame a wave.Photo / Alison Smith

Waihi Beach is among the Coastal Bay of Plenty's jewels to be highlighted in the region, which just made the list of Top 100 worldwide sustainable destinations.

Tourism Bay of Plenty applied for the award to recognise the region's aspiration for what is called a regenerative tourism industry, hoping to become a destination of choice for eco-travellers.

The list highlights visitor destinations that are making progress to become more sustainable.

"Winning this award and beginning our application to become an eco-certified destination has put us on the ecotourism map. We're proud to be recognised for something we're really passionate about, which is regenerative tourism," said Tourism Bay of Plenty head of destination marketing Kath Low.

The Sustainable Top 100 list was created to showcase good practices and inspiring examples to other tour operators and travellers.

The application needed to highlight an area or issue from the region that had been resolved with good sustainability management practices.

Tourism Bay of Plenty's application focused on nature and ecotourism alongside the development and implementation of its ambitious destination management plan, Te Hā Tāpoi, The Love of Tourism.

The award is one of the first steps in the region becoming a Certified ECO Destination, through Ecotourism Australia.

The award ceremony, which had originally been planned to be hosted in Bodrum, Turkey, but was cancelled due to Covid-19, took place at the first ever online Global Green Destinations Days 2020 event.

Tourism Bay of Plenty said the natural environment was one of the core elements that the community felt made the region unique, and there's a strong desire to protect it.

Tourism Bay of Plenty is now applying for the internationally recognised certification as an ECO Destination.