(PR.co.nz) A New Zealand tour company specialising in unique Kiwi experiences has won a prestigious global award.
Auckland tour company TIME Unlimited – which specialises in Māori cultural tours as well as offering tours of Auckland, fishing, kayaking and wilderness walks – has won the public vote section of the Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Awards 2010.
The awards, hosted by Planeta.com and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), are for tourism websites that promote sustainable tourism practices and educate visitors on cultural protocols and biodiversity conservation.
TIME Unlimited owners Ceillhe and Neill Sperath, who are thrilled with their win, said they would travel to Germany in April to receive the award.
“We are absolutely delighted to receive such an outstanding accolade for our company. It is very humbling for us that TIME Unlimited Tours was chosen by people from around the world with such an overwhelming majority for this prestigious global award.”
The winner of the main jury award was Nutti Sami Siida, a Swedish company offering reindeer sled trips in Lapland.
New Zealand finalists
TIME Unlimited Tours won the public vote award by a high margin, achieving nearly 50% of the votes cast worldwide.
Te Urewera Treks – a New Zealand company offering eco-cultural wilderness treks into the Te Urewera and Whirinaki forests in the North Island – was also a finalist for the jury award.
Winners will receive their awards in April 2010 at a tourism trade fair, the Reisepavillon in Berlin, Germany.
Background: TIME Unlimited
TIME Unlimited is an Auckland-based tour company established in 2005 by bi-cultural couple Ceille and Neill Sperath.
Ceille is a New Zealand Māori and direct descendant of the famous chief Patuone, who was present during the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi – New Zealand’s founding document. Neill is a New Zealander of Irish and German origin.
Neill and Ceille are both passionate about New Zealand’s unique Māori culture and beautiful natural environment. TIME Unlimited was founded on the three pou or pillars of Māoritanga (Māori culture): manaakitanga (hospitality), kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and whakawhanaungatanga (relationships).
Media Release 11 March 2010 from NewZealand.com