Whale Watch Kaikoura wins international supreme award for responsible tourism
A New Zealand wildlife experience offering a close encounter with marine mammals in their natural environment has just won a prestigious international award for responsible tourism.
Whale Watch Kaikoura has been named overall winner in the 2009 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards, and also won the 'Marine Environment' category.
The 100 percent Maori-owned company, formed in 1987, takes up to 100,000 passengers a year off the coast of Kaikoura on an environmentally enlightening journey to see a variety of marine life, including sperm and other whales, dolphins, seals and a wide group of pelagic and coastal birds in their natural environment.
A second New Zealand company also gained a top accolade - backpackers hostel YHA Wellington City won the 'Large Accommodation' category.
It is the second year the major responsible tourism award has come to New Zealand - last year the country was overall winner and won the ‘Best Destination’ category.
The awards, which were announced in London at 2009 World Travel Market, are the most respected of their type in the world. Run by responsibletravel.com in collaboration with key UK media, they recognise destinations and organisations making a positive contribution to local cultures, economies and the environment through tourism. More than 2000 organisations, individuals and destinations in 13 categories were nominated for the 2009 awards.
Chair of the judges and Leeds Metropolitan University Professor of Responsible Tourism Management, Dr Harold Goodwin said Whale Watch Kaikoura’s story was unique.
"Rarely do we see a tourism initiative developed from the ground up by a local community to such a successful and grand scale - growing from modest beginnings to securing a joint venture with Sea World on the Gold Coast of Australia to provide their whale watching.
"The founding of the enterprise by four Maori families has demonstrated that the local Maori community can not only grow a considerable tourism business but, more significantly, use that business to buy back their ancestral land for the benefit of the indigenous people and their cultural identity," Goodwin said.
Tourism New Zealand chief executive George Hickton, who was in London for the awards’ ceremony, said he was delighted New Zealand tourism initiatives had been honoured once again by the global awards.
"The Maori philosophy of ‘kaitiakitanga’ is even more relevant to tourism today as it explains how we as mankind are guardians of our world and we should work to protect this physical environment as much as possible for future generations," Hickton said.
As well as Whale Watch Kaikoura’s success on the water, their commitment to the local community helped win the 2009 Supreme Award. The company’s method of operation ticked a number of boxes for judges including the educational nature of the experience which covers culture, history, conservation and sustainability.
One of the reasons Whale Watch Kaikoura was set up initially was to create employment for local Maori who were the most disadvantaged in the region. The company’s activities have put Kaikoura firmly on the tourist map, and during the peak season staffing levels make it the largest employer in the town.
The company, which operates as a charitable entity representing the indigenous Ngati Kuri Maori tribe and four local founding families, has an annual turnover of NZ$10 million.
At least NZ$550,000 of the annual profit is distributed in the Kaikoura community and used for education, employment, poverty relief and to protect the environment - which Whale Watch Kaikoura says is consistent with their strong commitment to the marae, land, people and community, and defines their cultural identity.
As part of the company’s dream, the local marae has become the meeting place of all cultures and is the cornerstone of the community.
Whale Watch Kaikoura also works closely with the local district council to influence sustainable growth of the town and its infrastructure, minimising the negative effects of tourism. The company was among the first in New Zealand to gain Tourism New Zealand’s Qualmark Enviro-Gold status.
Kaikoura is also the first place in New Zealand and the second in the world to be green globe accredited, affirming the community’s commitment to the environment.
Whale Watch Kaikoura’s steps to reduce their carbon footprint include: buying buses and vessels with more efficient fuel consumption which meet or exceed low emission standards, using an energy supplier that generates 60% electricity from renewable resources of geothermal and hydro, promoting and supporting 'trees for travellers' - a local initiative that gives visitors the opportunity to buy and plant a tree to offset their carbon emissions.
The company also takes young students on free whale watching trips and runs education programmes in schools to educate children on what they can do to protect the marine environment.
YHA Wellington City
Backpackers hostel YHA Wellington City, winners of the large accommodation category, is the largest hostel in the YHA New Zealand network of 53 youth hostels.
It is a Qualmark 5-star property with Qualmark Enviro-Gold accreditation. The hostel has received New Zealand Sustainable Business Network awards, and was twice named Hostelworld best hostel in Oceania.
The judges said that YHA Wellington went beyond regular hotel practice to engage with guests around sustainability issues in "an upbeat and inspiring way, putting the onus back on the guest to exercise, and even enjoy, responsible practices."
Apart from the sustainable measures employed inside the hostel, its 'Green Footprint Project' includes a tree planting day for guests, running a sustainable living quiz for school groups, and hosting the annual National Youth Environment Forum.
Hostel manager Chris Sperring said the success as a responsible tourism operator began years ago when the hostel made the initial commitment to look for improvements in the way it conducted its business.
"In some ways the large projects like our heat exchanger are the easiest. Once they’re installed they just work. The hard work is in getting every staff member to think as a responsible tourism operator. When we create an atmosphere where working here is more than just a job, that’s when we do the most for our staff, guests and the environment," he said.
