Winston Aldworth: Staying at home

It's never been easier to fly to London or New York (with planes more comfortable and tickets cheaper than ever). Photo / Supplied

Haka Tours (hakatours.com) won the big gong at last week's New Zealand Tourism Awards, taking home the Air New Zealand Supreme Tourism Award. Well done them — and well done to all the other operators who were among the finalists.

The awards showcase success in businesses that bring foreign visitors — and their lovely money — to these shores. But, in an age where it's never been easier to fly to London or New York (with planes more comfortable and tickets cheaper than ever), not enough is done to attract Kiwi travellers to tour their own country.

My hot tip: Pick a Kiwi tourism operator at random from Herald Travel and make a point of going to see them before your next overseas trip.