Skyline wins supreme tourism award

TOP PRIZE: Skyline Rotorua, with general manager Bruce Thomasen pictured, won the top award at the Tourism Industry Association Awards last night. PHOTO/ FILE

Skyline Rotorua has won the tourism industry's highest accolade, the Air New Zealand Supreme Tourism Industry Award.

Managed by the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) with Air New Zealand and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the awards were announced at a black-tie dinner in Auckland last night, which was attended by more than 300 industry leaders and supporters.

As part of its prize, Skyline Rotorua will receive air travel to any Air New Zealand destination in North America, South America or Asia valued at up to $10,000 to help it grow its business.

Skyline Rotorua also won the Business Excellence Award for annual business turnover over $6 million, supported by JLT/AIG.

The judges said Skyline Rotorua was an iconic tourism industry product that had undergone an incredible transformation over the past couple of years to successfully attract more visitors, broaden its appeal, drive up revenue and improve guest satisfaction. The big business changes it had made had helped reinvigorate Rotorua, they said.

The adventure and family attraction includes rides such as the Zoom Zipline and Sky Swing, a Mountain Bike Gravity Park, nature trails, wine tasting, a restaurant and shopping.

TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said Skyline Rotorua's comprehensive strategy hit all the key points within the industry's Tourism 2025 growth framework, including generating the growth of shoulder-season tourism, productivity for profit and delivering an outstanding visitor experience.

TIA launched the new and expanded awards programme this year, closely aligned its Tourism 2025 growth framework which aims to almost double annual tourism revenue to $41 billion by 2025. The new-look awards attracted more than 100 entries, a reflection of a buoyant industry that pumped over $65 million daily into New Zealand's economy, Mr Roberts said.

"We had entries from organisations of all sizes and sectors across our diverse industry, and it's fantastic to see an attraction from the birthplace of tourism in New Zealand take out the top prize."

For more information go to www.tourismawards.co.nz.