Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village is thrilled to have received the Qualmark Gold Award for Sustainable Tourism Business, the highest award a business can hold.
You might be wondering though, “What is Qualmark?”
Qualmark is New Zealand Tourism’s official quality assurance organisation, providing a trusted guide to identifying quality travel experience. With Qualmark, businesses are independently accessed by a tourism expert and awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold award depending on their performance against the Sustainable Tourism Business criterion.
Good news: When you book with Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village, you know you’re visiting a business that’s providing quality experiences and leading the way in sustainability. For us, we are proud to be recognised as being up there with the best!
We are delighted to have been awarded a 2021 Travellers’ Choice Award. Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village also received this award in 2018 and 2019, as well as a Certificate of Excellence.
These awards are the major travel industry awards based on millions of reviews and opinions from travellers around the world. Our awards reflect our ranking among New Zealand’s “best of the best” in the category of Landmarks for service, quality, and customer satisfaction.
Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village is a member of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter.
This grass roots organisation is committed to Rotorua becoming a sustainable destination and to members continually improving their social and environmental performance.
As of August 2022 we commenced our Sustainability Journey through the Sustainability Mentoring Program that is being supported by RotoruaNZ, so watch this space for updates on our journey
Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village has been audited and certified by Be Accessible, who assess sights, activities, transport providers, accommodation providers, retail stores and restaurants with a view to identifying how accessible their service is for visitors with young children, or visitors with a vision or hearing impairment, mobility impairment and learning and intellectual impairments.
Be Accessible has awarded us Bronze Be Accessible status. This means that while there are some areas that are not totally accessible, generally we have a good level of accessibility. You can find more information here about our Be Accessible and our bronze certification.
Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village works very closely with NZ’s Department of Conservation (Te Papa Atawhai) to ensure that our impact on our land is minimal and to ensure that any development protects and enhances the natural environment of Te Whakarewarewa Valley and guarantees its sustainability as a world class tourism destination.
Whakarewarewa – The Living Māori Village is a member of Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) which is the only independent association that represents all sectors of New Zealand’s large and diverse tourism industry.
GNS Science (Te Pū Ao) is New Zealand’s leading provider leading provider of Earth, geoscience and isotope research and consultancy services.
Here at Whakarewarewa – The Living Maori Village we have been working with GNS for a number of years to improve our understanding of the unique aspects of Te Whakarewarewa Valley for the benefit of the wider community. We believe it is important to gain a better understanding of this Taonga (Treasure) and thus protecting it for future generations.
Tiaki means to care and protect. The Tiaki Promise is a commitment to care for New Zealand, for now, and for future generations.
New Zealand is precious, and everyone who lives and travels here has a responsibility to look after it. By following the Tiaki Promise, you are making a commitment to New Zealand. To act as a guardian, protecting and preserving our home.
Nau mai, haere mai ki Aotearoa. Welcome to New Zealand.
Whakarewarewa committed to sustainable tourism. The Tourism Sustainability Commitment aims to ensure economic, environmental and social sustainability becomes a genuine ethical underpinning of our industry.