BOP holiday parks win sustainability awards

Image: Supplied.

Two tourism operators in the Coastal Bay of Plenty have been nationally recognised for leading the nation in tourism sustainability innovation. Mount Maunganui's Cosy Corner Holiday Park and the Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park both won ‘Highly Commended' awards at the recent Tourism Industry Aotearoa Sustainability Innovation Awards.

Cosy Corner Holiday Park, also the recipients of a 2019 Qualmark 4 Star Silver Sustainable Tourism Award, has undertaken significant efforts to reduce waste and carbon emissions and partake in community events.

'Last year we signed TIA's Tourism Sustainability Commitment which motivated us to review what we were doing well and what we could improve on. As a part of our 50-year anniversary of park ownership, it was an ideal opportunity to involve our staff and guests in some environmental activities”, says Cosy Corner Holiday Park Co-manager Vicki Woodcraft.

To reduce carbon emissions, the park replaced their diesel water heating system with solar power. Co-manager Greg Davidson says, 'we are hoping this will result in a cost-neutral heating system and more importantly, zero emissions from water heating”.

Park staff and guests help to sew re-usable fabric shopping bags which are available for guest use. Packaging free guest soaps are used to eliminate plastic, with leftovers provided to a soap recycling scheme that distributes soap to people and communities in need. The park has also eliminated plastic rubbish bin liners. A worm farm has been established for food waste, and the park has committed to Tauranga City Council's four-year Resource Wise Business programme to reduce landfill waste.

'We have received wonderful support from our staff and visitors who are always keen to contribute to our initiatives. Many travellers are making holiday choices with sustainability in mind, and we look forward to continuing our support of TIA's vision for New Zealand to lead the world in sustainable tourism”, says Vicki.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa's Sally Attfield with park managers Greg Davidson, Vicki Woodcraft and TIA's Ann-marie Johnson. Photo: Adrian Heke.

Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park undertakes energy and water saving, recycling and environmental programmes. General Manager Mark Inman says he believes in business practices that support the local community, the wider holiday park industry, and care for the park's staff.

'We aim to preserve the natural beauty of the holiday park and the wider Ōhope Beach area so that future generations may enjoy it as we do today”.

Measures that the park has undertaken include removing paper from its operations, waste reduction through recycling, worm farms and donating food scraps to local pigs. Scrap paper is also shredded for local farmers' chickens' coops.

'We believe in including the community (especially kids) in our sand dune restoration programme to future proof our environment not only in Ōhope Beach but throughout Aotearoa. We all love to holiday throughout the country and our beaches are an intrinsic part of who we are as Kiwis,” says Mark.

The park's dune care restoration programme annually plants 300 Spinifex plants. The park works with local schools to help plant and educate on the importance of dune restoration for coastal communities.

In 2017, the Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park was also awarded the Qualmark Enviro-Silver award for 'exceptional levels of resource management and social responsibility; being green and living green is our motto”, said Inman.

Resource use is kept to a minimum at the Park through solar panels, bore water usage over town supply, greywater safe cleaning products, using electric golf carts for maintenance, LED sensor activated lighting, and a kitchen garden for guest use.

Ohope Beach TOP 10 Holiday Park also sponsor Kiwi and Toutouwai North Island Robin birds through the Whakatāne Kiwi Trust.

Tourism Bay of Plenty Chief Executive Kristin Dunne says, 'we need to ensure the protection of our special place so that locals and visitors can continue to enjoy our stunning natural environment”.

In 2018 Tourism Bay of Plenty became a Destination Management Organisation 'to ensure regenerative management of the region and a balance between tourism growth and protection of our taonga”, she says.

'I applaud the efforts of the Cosy Corner Holiday Park and the Ohope Beach Top 10 Holiday Park to reduce their carbon footprints.”

You may also like....

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.