Ziptrek Ecotours Queenstown Recognised By Industry Peers With TECNZ Award Win

Ziptrek Ecotours was honoured to accept the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand’s award for New Sustainability Initiative at the TECNZ Achievement Awards last week.

The industry awards dinner held at the Rutherford Hotel in Nelson last Wednesday night was attended by over 250 tourism professionals. 14 finalists in five categories were selected by the TECNZ board before being voted on by industry peers.

The awards aimed to recognise and celebrate TECNZ members that have been proactive in making a difference in their communities, implementing new sustainability initiatives across their business, and developing new visitor products and experiences during the pandemic period.

Judges acknowledged Ziptrek for its decarbonisation work, which includes a six-part Let’s Talk About Carbon video series that aims to demystify the process of carbon reduction and offsetting for businesses and individuals. 

Having recently been recertified as carbon zero for the fourth year in a row, and as Queenstown’s first zero-carbon operator, Ziptrek Queenstown is proud to be an industry leader in Aotearoa New Zealand’s regenerative tourism future.

“The last couple of years have been pretty tumultuous – but despite the circumstances, we’ve focused on continuous internal evolution. At our heart is our focus on sustainable business and our role in our community, and then to communicate our learnings,” reflects Owner/Director Trent Yeo. “I’d encourage business owners to think if your operations were suddenly removed, would anyone miss you?” 

Ziptrek Ecotours looks forward to continuing its educational and advocacy work in this space as the tourism industry rebuilds and would like to extend a big congratulations to all the well-deserving finalists and winners:

New Community/Charity Initiative Finalists:

• EcoZip Adventures, Waiheke Island
• Kohutapu Lodge and Tribal Tours, Murupara
• Wheelie Fantastic, Mapua

WINNER: EcoZip Adventures, Waiheke Island

New Sustainability Initiative Finalists:     

• Ahipara Luxury Tours, Central Otago
• Ziptrek Ecotours, Queenstown

WINNER: Ziptrek Ecotours New Zealand

Innovation in Visitor Experience Finalists:           

• Altitude Tours, Queenstown
• Fiordland Trips & Tramps, Te Anau
• Tākaro Trails, Napier

WINNER: Fiordland Trips & Tramps

Good Sort/Unsung Hero Finalists:          

• Ben Thornton, Bush and Beach, Auckland
• Cecil Potatau, Ngāi Tahu Tourism, Auckland
• Lou Baddiley, RotoruaNZ

WINNER: Ben Thornton, Bush and Beach

Emerging Tourism Leader Finalists:                    

• Eleri Williams, Haka Tour Group, Auckland
• Grace Mitchell, Active Adventures, Queenstown
• Zac Watson, Maverick Digital Tourism Marketing

WINNER: Zac Watson, Maverick Digital Tourism Marketing