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Awards & Accolades

TIME Unlimited Tours has won many national and international awards for our unique Auckland and New Zealand Luxury Tours. Our luxury tours have been extensively featured on television, radio, newspapers, books and travel magazines worldwide. Our Auckland-based family business has so far won 4 worldwide awards, as well as many others.

Recent awards include:

2021: Winner New Zealand Tourism Awards

Ceillhe Sperath of TIME Unlimited Tours wins highly-prestigious "Tourism Industry Champion Award"

Our Co-Founder & Co-Director Ceillhe Sperath has been named Winner in the category "Tourism Industry Champion Award" at the 2021 New Zealand Tourism Awards!

The Tourism Champion Award recognises an outstanding tourism professional who has been in the tourism industry workforce for more than 10 years (commenced work in a tourism role before 2011).

What are the judges looking for?

  • Tourism career – you have achieved a leadership role, adding value to your employer/business.
  • Achievements – you have a record of notable achievements which have contributed to business success.
  • Contribution to the wider industry – you are an enthusiastic and effective participant in the wider tourism industry, proactively contributing to its success.
  • Personal – you have a strong ethos and values, and it’s evident that you are an outstanding tourism leader
    We are absolutely delighted to receive this latest accolade, which is of course a very significant award bestowed by our peers in the New Zealand tourism industry.

2021: Winner Audley Travel 25th Anniversary Global Guide Awards

4th Global Tourism Award for TIME Unlimited Tours

TIME Unlimited Tours’ Co-Director Ceillhe Sperath has been selected as a winner of Audley Travel's 25th Anniversary Global Guide Awards, the only one from NZ.

It's wonderful to receive this latest international recognition and to be part of this very select list of top guides from around the world.

Thanks to Audley Travel and meet all 25 of the award-winning guides in their latest blog post here.

2020 Winner Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award

Tripadvisor Award for 10th year in a row

Each year, Tripadvisor combs through reviews, ratings, and saves from travelers everywhere, and use that info to award the very best. TIME Unlimited Tours is part of an exclusive group, which has for many years provided an outstanding customer experience.

2020: Best Luxury Tour Operator in New Zealand

APAC Business Awards 2020

After receiving our application, APAC Insider selected TIME Unlimited Tours to be added to their shortlist and we became subject to APAC Insider's rigorous internal vetting procedure. Their extensive research and judging process is driven by merit and centred around an in-depth evaluation of skills and services on offer.

Awardees must demonstrate expertise within their field, dedication to customer service and a commitment to promoting excellence.

This approach has brought them much success and commendation throughout its use and enforces APAC Insider's stance that victors are not determined by popularity of votes, but by their contributions to their industry.

2019 and 2018: National Maori Business Award

Māori Women's Development Inc

The National MWDI Maori Business Award recognises TIME Unlimited Tours as a regional winner for Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland region).  This regional award was sponsored and presented by Tania Tarawa, Maori Economic Development Manager for Auckland Tourism, Events & Economic Development agency of Auckland Council.

Māori Women's Development Inc is an indigenous financial institution formed by Māori women, managed and operated by Māori women, for the economic development of Māori women and their whānau. TIME Unlimited Tours has won this very special award 2 years in a row 2018 and again in 2019.

2010-2023: Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Awards - WINNER

The Qualmark Enviro Awards

The Qualmark Enviro Awards recognise those businesses that go beyond the benchmark and TIME Unlimited Tours has consistently way exceeded the strict requirements concerning ethical, professional and environmentally sustainable processes since 2010.

2017: Winner Tour Operator of the Year

Luxury Travel Guide Awards

The Luxury Travel Guide Awards recognise and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the affluent travel and tourism industry. Their team of experts have scoured the globe and travelled extensively in order to identify everything from the very best hotels, airlines and tour operators through to highlighting the most reputable transfer service companies. They have chosen TIME Unlimited Tours as the 2017 Winner Tour Operator of the Year for Asia & Australasia.

2016: Auckland Airport Tourism Industry Development Grant

Auckland Airport

TIME Unlimited Tours’ proposal for a ‘City to Cape Cultural Collection’ regional cluster has been awarded a $50,000 Auckland Airport Tourism Industry Development Grant. The grant is to support the development and promotion of a seasonally themed experience supporting regional partnerships.

2016: Overall Winner in the category “Sense of Place”

National Geographic World Legacy Awards

The World Legacy Awards, a partnership between the National Geographic Society and ITB Berlin, showcase the leading travel and tourism companies, organizations and destinations from around the world — ranging from large resorts to small eco-lodges and from wildlife conservancies to geoparks — driving the sustainable tourism transformation of the travel industry based on National Geographic’s work of inspiring people to care about the planet.

2015: Luxperience Awards

Winner

Luxperience connects the world’s most exclusive buyers and sellers of global travel experiences creating an exclusive, invitation only community. The category ‘Meaningful’ pays tribute to attendees who achieve greater understanding of history, heritage and culture.

This was TIME Unlimited Tours’ 2nd win in a Worldwide Tourism Award. A select group of 500 suppliers and decision-makers of the global luxury and experiential travel arena attended the gala dinner, celebrating the winners and finalists in the Luxperience Awards.

2015: Tourism Industry Awards (TIA)

Winner

New Zealand’s Tourism Industry Association recognises individual and business excellence across New Zealand’s exciting tourism industry and these are New Zealand Tourism’s official and most prestigious awards. TIME Unlimited Tours was announced overall winner in the category Maori Cultural Tourism, which was announced at a special gala dinner at SkyCity in Auckland on 2 October 2015.

The judges selected TIME Unlimited Tours for its great commitment to an authentic Maori tourism experience and the strong motivation to take care of the nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage which underpin its business success.

2014: Viator Travel Awards 2014 Best Local Operator

Winner

TIME Unlimited Tours has been awarded 2014 Best Local Operator by Viator, which is one of the world's leading resources for researching and booking travel experiences.

2013: The David Awards - The Most Inspired Use of Marketing Award

Winner

The David Awards recognise small businesses throughout New Zealand, whose tenacity, courage and ingenuity place them firmly at the forefront of entrepreneurship in this country.

TIME Unlimited Tours entered and won in the category ”The Most Inspired Use of Marketing” which honours a business that punches above its weight in terms of getting the word out, achieving profile and attracting business. A great delight for the Auckland based company TIME Unlimited Tours!

2012: EcoTrophea 2012

Finalist

TIME Unlimited Tours was chosen the only finalist from Australasia in the worldwide Eco- Tourism Award EcoTrophea 2012. The German Travel Association (DRV) has been awarding this annual International Award since 1987 to effective and exemplary projects which are committed to environmental protection and social responsibility in tourism.

2012: Rankers Traveller Voted Award – NZ Wide Cultural Experiences

Winner

Rankers NZ presents awards to each year’s outstanding experiences, as voted by travellers to New Zealand. Top Ranked NZ awards are presented annually to tourism experiences and operators which have displayed a consistently high ranking score throughout the year.

2012: Rotary International Vocational Excellence Award

Winner

Pakuranga (Auckland) Rotary Club’s annual awards night celebrates and congratulates outstanding individuals who have delivered high levels of performance and made a significant contribution to their community or vocation.

2011: EcoTrophea

Finalist

The German Travel Association (DRV) has been awarding this annual International Award since 1987 to effective and exemplary projects which are committed to environmental protection and social responsibility in tourism.

2011: National Bank of New Zealand Small Business Competition

Winner

In 2011, we took part in a national competition titled “Overcoming your Small Business Challenge” and after submitting an extensive application, ended up being selected as the overall winner, which included as a prize a high-end laptop that we put to good use in our business.

2010: Global Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award 2010

Winner

TIME Unlimited Tours received the highly prestigious Ecotourism and Indigenous Tourism Award in conjunction with the United Nations at an awards ceremony during the annual Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference, organised by the International Ecotourism Society, in Portland/Oregon, United States. TIME Unlimited Tours was pronounced the overall winner in the public vote section and won this global award with a huge margin ahead of all other applicants with 48.2% of all votes cast, the 2nd and 3rd placed organisations achieving 21.1% and 9.8% respectively.

Global Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award 2009

Runner Up

TIME Unlimited Tours came as worldwide runner-up in the popular vote for this award. The prize is presented to an indigenous tourism operation for having a website that promotes sustainable practices and educates visitors on cultural protocols and biodiversity conservation.