WellingtonNZ.com,
New Zealand 

Wellington's award-winning ZEALANDIA eco-sanctuary has been selected by UK broadsheet The Guardian as one of the top 75 green tourism companies in the world.

The Guardian Green Travel List 2010 is an inaugural list of 75 companies worldwide that have shown evidence of commitment to community, place and the environment. The list is published in association with greentraveller.co.uk and supported by Forum for the Future. ZEALANDIA was one of only two companies in New Zealand to be listed (the other was Wilderness Lodges, luxury eco-lodge accommodation in the South Island).

ZEALANDIA CEO Nancy McIntosh-Ward says the sanctuary, which is just a few minutes' drive from the centre of New Zealand's capital city, is thrilled to be included on the list.

"It's a great recognition of ZEALANDIA's international reputation as a model eco-tourism attraction, and the groundbreaking work we have done to bring many of New Zealand's rarest species back to the mainland. Being not-for-profit, every single visitor we get makes a real, tangible contribution to New Zealand's natural heritage. Hopefully they also take away a deeper appreciation of our impact on the natural environment."

Richard Hammond, founder of greentraveller.co.uk, visited ZEALANDIA last year while researching for his book The Rough Guide to Clean Breaks.

"There's an ancient Chinese proverb that says: 'Tell me and I will forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand," he said in response to ZEALANDIA's inclusion on the list.

This ethos is what ZEALANDIA is all about. It's much more than a showcase of a few iconic wildlife; it's an experience, an involvement in the natural world. And what's great is that it's just minutes from downtown Wellington; it shows what you can do to create a green space in the heart of an urban jungle if you put your mind to it.

Next month the 15 year-old conservation attraction opens a major new permanent exhibition showcasing New Zealand's unique natural history and the story of its world-renowned conservation movement.

"ZEALANDIA: The Exhibition is an exciting new step in our 500-year journey," says Ms McIntosh-Ward. "If we are to truly realise our vision, and restore this corner of New Zealand to the way it was 1,000 years ago, we need to get the next 25 generations on board! The exhibition puts what we are doing here at ZEALANDIA into context and makes our conservation story accessible to everyone."

Background information on the Green Travel List
More than 200 travel and tourism companies were sent an online questionnaire that asked for specific information about action taken to reduce carbon impact and promote water conservation, biodiversity conservation and waste management. A panel of travel and tourism experts - chaired by Graham Miller, director of International Studies at the University of Surrey - read the completed questionnaires and decided on the final list. The aim was to identify companies that have introduced significant changes to their business, the products they offer and the way they perform. Any measures that are highly replicable and scalable weighed in their favour, particularly where a transparent degree of monitoring was demonstrated.

Background information on ZEALANDIA: The Karori Sanctuary Experience
This award-winning eco-attraction just 2km from central Wellington was the world's first fully-fenced urban wildlife sanctuary and the most accessible of New Zealand's famous 'mainland conservation islands'. Home to some of our rarest native animals, all living wild in a beautiful forested valley, it provides unrivalled opportunities to see iconic species like our 'living fossil' the tuatara, playful forest parrot the kaka and dozens more species found nowhere else in the world. ZEALANDIA was winner of the 2008 Tourism Industry Award for Conservation in Action and has recently been voted one of the top 25 eco-restoration projects in Australasia. Managed by a not-for-profit trust, all proceeds from admission support conservation and eco-restoration work that is continuing to break new ground.

For more information contact:

Alan Dicks
Senior Marketing & Communications Coordinator
ZEALANDIA: The Karori Sanctuary Experience
T +64 4 920 9205