Christchurch’s Willowbank Wildlife Reserve has been recognised on the national stage, winning a prestigious honour at the 2025 New Zealand Tourism Awards.

Willowbank received the ServiceIQ Tourism Excellence Award for Small–Medium Business, recognising outstanding achievement in visitor experience, sustainability and conservation impact.

Hosted by Tourism Industry Aotearoa, the awards celebrate organisations that demonstrate excellence, innovation and a strong commitment to protecting the places and communities that make Aotearoa unique.

For more than 50 years, Willowbank has grown into one of New Zealand’s most respected wildlife experiences, welcoming more than 230,000 visitors annually while supporting important conservation programmes for kiwi, takahē, pāteke, whio and other threatened species.

The award highlights Willowbank’s unique ability to combine tourism with meaningful conservation — connecting visitors with native wildlife while helping protect Aotearoa’s precious species for future generations.