Hon. Mark Burton
New Zealand Tourism Awards Ceremony

My Ministerial colleague Dover Samuels, industry leaders from around New Zealand, and our guests from around the world.

Nga mihi nui ki a koutou e huihui mai nei ("Warm greetings to you all who have gathered here")

Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.

What a challenging year it's been for world tourism. All manner of events have conspired to disturb global travel patterns and further challenge all those involved in the tourism industry.

I take great heart from the fact that, of all of our competitors, New Zealand has shown itself to be the quickest to mobilise, to be the most adaptable, and the most robust.

Our collective investments in our brand and our product, and in developing a united vision for the future have proved their worth, as we have found ourselves strongly positioned to respond to this new environment.

Tonight's finalists embody our vision for the future. Tonight's finalists value quality. They value best practice in their businesses. They value their customers, and they go the extra distance to make sure that their customers enjoy their New Zealand experience-100 percent.

Each of tonight's finalists has opened their doors and their books to scrutiny by John's team of industry experts, and each of them have shown themselves to be world class.

To tonight's winners, congratulations. Those of us who weren't being judged tonight have enjoyed basking in your glory. Tonight is about your success. It's the result of your dedication and your belief in your business. Celebrate it and enjoy it, as we celebrate your achievement with you.

In opening this conference, the Prime Minister talked about the strong sense of partnership that has developed between the government and the tourism sector.

As the Minister of Tourism, I value that partnership. I take great pride in the role that I have been privileged to play as we have forged it together, and I am committed to us taking it even further-together.

I am delighted that this year, I have been fortunate enough to stay in Queenstown for the full two days of the conference. So it is with absolute conviction that I congratulate the team at TIANZ, who have once again organised a most successful conference.

My thanks on behalf of everyone who has attended, and to all those involved in organising and staging the event. Thanks as well go to our hosts, Queenstown, who have yet again proven themselves to be warm and most welcoming.

And finally, congratulations again to all of the finalists, and especially to the winners-tonight is your night, and you absolutely deserve it.

ENDS

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