Whakatāne’s Visitor Information Centre has received top marks in a recent survey by Qualmark, New Zealand Tourism’s official quality assurance organisation. The VIC received an assessment score of 93 percent and was also accredited with a Silver Enviro Award, in recognition of its environmentally-friendly operations.

Qualmark Tourism Business Advisor Paul Chaplow said the awards reflected the VIC’s continued attention to detail in all aspects of the assessment process and congratulated the facility’s staff on their achievement.

Whakatāne District Council Business Services Manager, Aaron Milne, said the award was an indication of the high standards the VIC staff had achieved in recent years and that the facility continued to go from strength to strength. He also noted that recent renovations have seen the VIC’s display space increase markedly. The removal of a partition wall has meant space previously used for storage has been opened up to allow information on upcoming events and local attractions to be displayed.

The first display highlights the integrated retirement lifestyle village, residential subdivision and marine precinct development proposed for Bunyan Road. Trevor Hart of Whakatāne Marina Limited joined Mr Milne and Mayor Tony Bonne to view the new space and said it made the VIC feel noticeably larger and was already attracting public attention.