2010: A vintage year for New Zealand

New Zealand has been confirmed as one of the world’s top destinations with a string of international awards in 2010 that applaud the country for being an easy, fun place to live in and visit.

As well as topping the Lonely Planet Travel Awards ‘I’d happily stay in forever...’ category, New Zealand won global accolades for everything from luxury accommodation and fine wine, to unique cultural experiences and tourism activities.

Kiwi authors, film-makers, sportsmen, designers, artists, vintners and tourism operators were also ranked amongst the world's best, receiving high praise from travel and tourism watchdogs, as well as travellers.

The wide-ranging array of significant awards puts New Zealand in a strong position to welcome in a new year that will be tourism’s most important ever - when the country hosts more than 85,000 international visitors for Rugby World Cup 2011.

2010 visitor arrivals
The international pat on the back for the New Zealand tourism experience has been ratified by an increase in visitor numbers, especially from China.

November figures showed growth of 15% in Chinese visitor numbers, which helped New Zealand record a 3% increase in total arrivals.

Continued growth from Asia, consistent arrivals from Australia and a small increase in visitors from the United States meant New Zealand ended the year on a high note - and 2011 promises to see further growth.

A new China Airlines route linking Taipei to Auckland and a Jetstar service from Singapore to Auckland will open up new opportunities next year, as will Thai Airways’ plans to increase flights on its Bangkok to Auckland route.

Other new routes opening next year include an Air Asia X direct service between Kuala Lumpur and Christchurch, and a China Southern Airlines service from Guangzhou, in southern China, to Auckland.

In a further boost for tourism in New Zealand, the Hilton hotel chain will open two new properties in Queenstown next year. Construction is already underway on a 178-room 5-star hotel named Hilton Queenstown and a 4-star hotel featuring 98 one-bedroom apartment-style rooms which will be known as the ‘Kawarau Hotel, managed by Hilton’.

Auckland Airport
For many visitors, the award-winning tourism experience starts from the moment they arrive in New Zealand with Auckland Airport, the country’s main gateway, having won the 2010 World Routes Airport Marketing Awards ‘best airport’ in the Asia region.

Others experience award-winning service en route by flying with national carrier Air New Zealand, which won two prestigious awards in 2010.

Readers of Condé Nast Traveller named Air New Zealand their favourite ‘long-haul leisure airline’ with the ‘excellent food / catering and child-friendliness’ winning high praise.

The airline also picked up the Air Transport World ‘Airline of the Year’ award (considered the Oscars of the aviation industry), two Skytrax accolades and ‘Best Airline’ at the 2010 Which? magazine awards.

2010 awards
In the same Condé Nast list, New Zealand was voted the fifth most popular holiday destination for its environmental friendliness.

In just one week, during October 2010, New Zealand received three awards:

• Tourism New Zealand was named 'Australasia's leading tourist board' at the World Travel Awards
• New Zealand was crowned ‘Best tourism country outside Europe’ at the Danish Travel Awards in Copenhagen
• New Zealand was third in the ‘Favourite long-haul country' category of the UK's Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk Travel Awards 2010.

Around the same time, the Northland region enjoyed the international tourism spotlight when the Tutukaka Coast was named one of the top three coastlines in the world, by the prestigious National Geographic Traveler magazine.

Just off the same coast, the world-famous Poor Knights Islands marine reserve was rated as one of the world's ‘Top 10 places to see nature at its finest’ by UK’s Guardian newspaper.

Best places to stay
Further north, Eagles Nest near Russell won the heady title of ‘World's top luxury coastal hotel’ - one of several awards bestowed upon exclusive New Zealand places to stay.

Also in Northland, The Lodge at Kauri Cliffs, Matauri Bay, was awarded ‘Best resort in the Australia and Pacific region’ by Condé Nast readers.

And three others top luxury lodges were included in the ‘World's Top 20 Hideaways’ list: Queenstown’s Blanket Bay, The Farm at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke’s Bay, and Taupo’s Huka Lodge.

The well-known Taupo lodge also won the Tatler ‘Enduring Excellence Award’ for 2010 which recognised "outstanding consistency in maintaining the highest standards of excellence for the last 25 years".

Blanket Bay was rated the second best place to stay in the world according to Condé Nast Traveler’s 2010 Gold List.

Outdoor adventure
Several popular tourist destinations put New Zealand at the forefront of outdoor and adventure travel after making Trip Advisor’s 2010 'Top destinations in the world' list.

Queenstown won the title of ‘No 1 outdoor and adventure destination in the world’ in the annual Travellers Choice Awards, as well as coming 15th overall in the ‘Top 25 destinations in the world’.

New Zealand also featured in a number of other categories, but dominated the outdoor and adventure sector taking six awards for ‘Top 10 outdoor & adventure destinations in the South Pacific’.

Queenstown was number one in the South Pacific, with Te Anau third, Lake Wanaka fourth, Rotorua fifth, Taupo sixth and Franz Josef at number 10.

Unique tourism experiences
Auckland tour company TIME Unlimited - which specialises in Māori cultural experiences as well as offering tours of Auckland, fishing, kayaking and wilderness walks - won the public vote section of the Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Awards 2010 in March.

And for the second year in a row, Whale Watch Kaikoura won a significant international accolade taking the 2010 Tourism for Tomorrow Community Benefit Award - recognising best practice in sustainable tourism.

Zealandia: the Karori Sanctuary Experience, a wildlife sanctuary in Wellington for some of New Zealand’s most endangered species, won the ‘Best for conservation of wildlife & habitats’ section of the Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards - the most respected of their type, in the world.

New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) also picked up a major international conservation award for its role in building and developing the famous Otago Central Rail Trail.

NZ Film Industry
New Zealand’s thriving film industry notched up a successful 2010 which began in January when the short film The Six Dollar Fifty Man won the Jury Prize in International Short Film-making at the Sundance International Film Festival in Utah. It also received a special mention at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Taika Waititi's Boy took out the top award for best feature film in the Generation Kplus International Jury category and This Way of Life was runner-up in the Generation Kplus Crystal Bear category of the Berlin Festival.

In March it was New Zealand’s night at the Academy Awards, as Kiwis swept up Oscars for best visual effects and art direction for Avatar. The movie became the top grossing movie of all time, and Wellington’s Weta Digital team was again in the spotlight for innovative work - having earlier won a BAFTA for Avatar’s digital effects at the British awards.

Film accolades continued when the innovative Kiwi interactive web drama Reservoir Hill won an Emmy in Cannes - a first for New Zealand in the International Digital Emmy Awards.

Food and wine
New Zealand’s reputation for fine wines and top quality food was further enhanced by some significant awards.

As well as high profile wineries dominating international awards, a small relatively young New Zealand winery beat 19 of the world’s most famous wine producers to take the International Pinot Noir Trophy at the world’s biggest and most prestigious wine show, the Decanter World Wine Awards in London.

Schubert Wines from Martinborough, in the boutique Wairarapa wine region, triumphed over wines from France, Italy, Australia, the USA, Chile and Germany, and also won the Sustainable Trophy at the International Wine Challenge Planet Earth Awards in London, with the same wine.

The 2010 Decanter World Wine Awards attracted 10,983 entries and New Zealand was seventh in the medal rankings, winning 341 medals - including two international trophies, 15 gold and 88 silver medals.

RWC 2011 & REAL NZ Festival
New Zealand’s award-wining reputation for wine, food, culture, heritage sports and nature will be on show in 2011 when the REAL New Zealand Festival is staged during the Rugby World Cup.

The festival is being promoted as a celebration of everything that makes New Zealand great, and visitors are being encouraged to take ‘the long way round’ the country so they can enjoy an extensive programme of unique Kiwi events that will be staged in each region.

Figures show RWC 2011 visitors will travel extensively throughout New Zealand. Almost 50% of the 85,000 visitors coming will arrive before the opening game and 44% will be coming to New Zealand for the first time.

These topics may also be of interest to you

• Events
• Film & Television
• Food & Wine
• Kiwi Innovation
• Luxury