The Hamilton & Waikato region has further cemented its place as a key tourism destination by winning a domestic tourism growth award at the inaugural Regional Tourism New Zealand (RTNZ) Awards.
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism was named the ‘2018 Best Domestic Tourism Performance’ winner in the tier 2 (mid-sized) regional tourism organisations category.
Sponsored by AA Traveller, this award recognised the importance of the domestic New Zealand tourism market and the need to nurture and grow this sector, as well as, the international visitor market.
The award was independently assessed by AA Traveller against four metrics including Net Promoter Score, average length of say, overnight visitation and visitor expenditure from the Monthly Regional Tourism Estimates (MRTEs).
Lake Wanaka Tourism took out the overall award for the highest domestic tourism growth across the country and Queenstown was named winner for the tier 1 (large) regional tourism organisation category.
Neil Gestro, Head of Tourism Partnerships for AA Travel & Tourism congratulated the Hamilton & Waikato team on an excellent win.
“Hamilton & Waikato Tourism’s results across all four metrics are commendable and it was great to see the region performing so well,” Mr Gestro said.
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism Chief Executive Jason Dawson said the win confirmed the region’s position as a leading visitor destination.
“At the end of August 2018, leisure and business tourism contribute $1.549 billion annually into the region. However, it’s the domestic visitors leading the charge injecting $1.184 billion into our regional economy annually,” Mr Dawson said.
“This award not only acknowledges the work of our team, but all the hard work across our region – from our tourism and transport operators, accommodation providers, hospitality and retail sector, through to our locals who play host to a significant amount of family and friends from other parts of New Zealand,” he added.
Photo: The 2018 Best Domestic Tourism Performance Award winners (from left to right): Graham Budd from Destination Queenstown, James Helmore from Lake Wanaka Tourism, Neil Gestro from AA Traveller & Tourism, and Jason Dawson from Hamilton & Waikato Tourism. Supplied.