Three Rotorua tourism operators are being recognised for their dedication to community and environment with a visit from an All Blacks legend.
Richie McCaw is in Rotorua this week to present MDA Experiences, Rotorua Canopy Tours and Kaitiaki Adventures with their 2021 Qualmark 100% Pure New Zealand Experience Awards.
The awards are given out annually in recognition of tourism operators' commitment to people, community and place.
This year's awards, judged by representatives from Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand and the Department of Conservation, were given to 12 tourism operators across the country.
McCaw said he was amazed at the work tourism operators were doing to help the environment and their own communities.
"It's not just about getting as many people through as you can. A lot of them don't go searching for the pats on the back. They just do it because they really believe in it."
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MDA Experiences group operations manager Tak Mutu said since it was his business' first time to enter, the win came as a surprise.
"We entered without experiencing a heck of a lot. To be one of the winners is amazing. It's pretty cool to be surrounded by Rotorua operators as well."
The win celebrates MDA Experiences' work with their Share the Ride Programmes which give people in the community access to mountain biking experiences that would otherwise be out of their reach.
The programmes give 10 community-nominated families 10 weeks of free mountain bike riding, health and safety and maintenance lessons. At the end of the programme each participant is given a bike and helmet courtesy of MDA Experiences and Rotorua Mountain Bike Club and Giant Bicycles.
Yesterday the group got a surprise even bigger than 24 free bikes when McCaw stepped out of a ute to help them get their helmets and gloves on.
"I was really excited," 10-year-old Georgia Winiata said.
Georgia's father Wiremu Winiata said it was amazing to see McCaw step out of the ute and was also very happy to hear about the award.
"The team here are really awesome, very community-spirited. This programme is a great thing."
Mutu said the exposure given by the award would be a big help in a time when business still suffered from Covid-19.
"In the year of Covid our business is down significantly. Across the group, it's not a pretty book.
"What I'm hoping the award does is bring attention to what we do so we can find people to support us or inspire others to do something for their community."
Mutu said the Share the Ride programme was still looking for a partner for 2022.
Kaitiaki Adventures general manager Jason Wright said the award had come at a great time.
"In our 21-year history, this is definitely our most challenging time.
"It is humbling to have Richie come and spend the day with us and to hand our award over. It means a lot to our wider whānau. Everyone is super excited."
Kaitiaki Adventures' projects include Project Whakahaumanu an ambitious 17-hectare restoration project in Okere falls that aims to restore five wetlands, develop a community garden and plant 22,500 native trees.
Today McCaw will join students from the local kura in planting natives around the wetlands.
Wright said the award recognised and encouraged the hard work and commitment of all Kaitiaki Adventures' staff, volunteers and iwi partners.
"Our Covid-19 strategy was firstly to survive, then revive and then thrive. We feel at the moment we're in limbo between survival and revival but we are extremely excited for the future."
Also honoured by the awards were Rotorua Canopy Tours for providing a tour option for low decile schools and leading restoration efforts through 250 hectares of native forest that have seen the reduction of possum and rat counts in the bush.
It was McCaw's first time at Rotorua Canopy Tours on Wednesday.
"I've only been on a zipline once before. I enjoy that sort of stuff, a bit of adrenaline."
McCaw said it was amazing to see photos of the forest which showed the difference made by seven years of Canopy Tours' conservation projects.
McCaw said it was great to see school groups being led through the Canopy Tours.
"What differentiates us to the rest of the world is the people that tell the stories and portray what it means to be a New Zealander, that's what makes the experience.
"I've done some tourist helicopter flying, you can go and get a helicopter flight anywhere but it's the stories you tell that makes the difference."
McCaw said the tourism operators he met taught him about resilience and determination.
"Their passion for what they're doing is what makes the experience."
Qualmark is the New Zealand tourism industry's quality assurance organisation. More than 18,000 businesses are licensed with Qualmark.
McCaw's visit to the award-winning operators has also been a good opportunity to highlight the excellent tourism offerings in the region, with hopes the raised awareness will help encourage Kiwis to get out and try them for themselves this summer.