PRESS RELEASE
29 January 2007

Karori Sanctuary achieves twin tourism triumphs

Wellington’s award-winning Karori Wildlife Sanctuary was recently voted as one of the top ten experiences the New Zealand public wanted to see added to AA’s existing list of 101 Kiwi Must-Dos.

In 2006, the AA launched a nationwide quest to find the 101 must-do attractions and experiences in New Zealand. When the list was finalised, they asked Kiwis to vote on something they felt was missing from the list. Over 1350 votes have been registered for this 102nd Must-Do. Wellington’s world-first wildlife sanctuary was the most popular nomination, with over 100 votes. It shares the stage with well-established Kiwi icons including the giant L&P bottle in Paeroa; Coromandel’s Cathedral Cove; whitebait; and hokey pokey ice cream!

Click here to see the winning entries.

“It’s an indication of just how much we have achieved here in such a short space of time that something so new on the tourism scene has been voted a Kiwi icon”, says Sanctuary chief executive Nancy McIntosh-Ward.

“I think it is a combination of our accessibility and vision that makes the Sanctuary such a popular destination. New Zealanders and visitors alike can see many of the plants and animals that make NZ unique – all in their natural environment just minutes from the city. It’s much more than just a tourist attraction; it is a place where people can experience something that we as Kiwis are famous for – nature conservation”.

As a further demonstration of the Sanctuary’s status as one of New Zealand’s emerging top tourist experiences, it is now licensed to carry the Qualmark® - New Zealand Tourism’s official mark of quality.

Qualmark® endorsement is important for local, domestic and international visitors as it offers quality assurance to a range of tourism businesses and is designed to identify professional and trustworthy operators to enable visitors to book and buy tourism products and services with confidence.

Qualmark® is a joint venture of Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Automobile Association and is backed by the New Zealand Tourism Industry Association and other leading industry organisations.

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