The judges said the tourism industry continued to benefit from Mr Hickton's inspirational leadership, which along with his Hawke's Bay Tourism role included being a Weta Workshop director, and Hobbiton board member.
Since joining Hawke's Bay Tourism, at a time when it was in a transition phase from its previous incarnation, Venture Hawke's Bay, he said tourism in the region had gone from strength to strength.
"The whole purpose was to develop a dedicated tourism agency that the industry was confident in, then get some profile for the region and tourism growth.
"All of those things have happened, and we are heading into one of the best seasons ever in coming months."
New Zealand tourism was on a high with the international market, he said, and Hawke's Bay was enjoying the benefits of that.
"We're getting a better slice of that international market than we used to get, we are included in itineraries more and are presenting ourselves better, being true to what the region offers such as extraordinary food and wine with a magnificent landscape and climate."
After so many years in the industry, his passion had not wavered.
"I love it - by and large those in the tourism industry are very positive and people focused, you can't do a good job hosting people unless you love it."
