Finalists in tourism awards
The owners of Hassle-free Tours, Nikki Marsh and Mark Gilbert, are ‘over the moon’ after yesterday’s announcement their company has become a finalist in two categories in the New Zealand Tourism Awards; Visitor Activities & Attractions - Leisure Activity and Small Tourism Operator Award.
Hassle-free Tours is one of only three finalists in the Small Tourism Operator Award and the only finalist from Canterbury.
It is the first time the Christchurch based company had entered the prestigious awards. “The next stage is that we’ll receive a site visit from the judges and we’re looking forward to showing to them what we offer to our customers, and how we run our business”, says Mark.
Hassle-free Tours provides day trips into the high country of central Canterbury including Mt Sunday, the filming location for Edoras in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
Since the company launched only five years ago Nikki and Mark have continually developed the business by modifying their product offerings and expanding their operations.
Hassle-free Tours have increased their fleet of cross-country vehicles and modified them to suit customer needs. The most significant development was in October 2007 when all the vehicles were converted to bio-diesel, which is made from recycled cooking oil. “Based on advice and drawing from international reports, we believe this conversion is reducing our CO2 emissions by at least half”, adds Mark.
Mark believes they are the only tour company running all their fleet on bio-diesel in New Zealand.
According to Mark and Nikki, the decision to move towards the bio-diesel environmental initiative was both important to them as individuals and to help deliver on the 100% Pure New Zealand promise. “We were aware of Tourism New Zealand’s positioning internationally and we wanted to do our bit to support that promise”, says Nikki. Once the decision was made there was research to be completed, bio-diesel to be sourced and testing to be undertaken. “We were fortunate that a major bio-diesel manufacturer is based in Christchurch and they were really helpful as we set up all the systems needed to make the conversion a reality”, adds Mark.
The company applied for CarboNZero certification earlier this year.
A major expansion was the purchase of Alpine Safari tours in October 2007. This offers customers a three-in-one adventure by integrating 4WD, jetboating and a scenic ride on the Tranzalpine train in a one day tour. By adding Alpine Safari tours to their range of products has given Hassle-free Tours a broader business base and opens up new customer markets.
Tour Map
Hassle-free Tours
is located in Christchurch, the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand.
