Ziplining, glow worms and white-water rafting proved to be tourist favourites in this year’s Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards.

Three Rotorua tourism operators earned four awards from the high ratings and reviews of visitors across the globe.

Taking the No 1 spot in the “Top Experiences New Zealand” category and taking 10th place in “Nature & Outdoors” was Rotorua Canopy Tours’ Original Tour.

Visitors gave five-star ratings to the exhilarating journey through an ancient, old-growth native forest on the edge of Mamaku.

Rotorua Rafting secured fourth place in the “Top Experiences New Zealand” category for its whitewater thrills on the Kaituna River’s 7-metre Tutea Falls.

Rotorua Rafting achieved fourth place in the ‘Top Experiences New Zealand’ category.

Real Rotorua’s Nocturnal Adventure Glow Worm Tour achieved seventh place in the “Top Experiences New Zealand” category.

RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said the awards were a testament to the hard work and dedication of Rotorua’s tourism operators.

RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson. Photo / NZME

“Rotorua’s recognition on a global platform like Tripadvisor not only brings honour to our city but also reinforces our commitment to providing exceptional tourism experiences to our visitors,” Wilson said.

Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button said he was thrilled for the attraction to be recognised as the No 1 tourism activity in New Zealand on “arguably the most reputable review site in the world”.

Rotorua Canopy Tours general manager Paul Button was thrilled for the attraction to be recognised as the No 1 tourism activity in New Zealand by TripAdvisor reviewers. Photo / Andrew Warner

“You keep your head down day in, day out and then when you get awards like this you get pretty stoked.”

The company put great emphasis on the visitor experience, culture and biodiversity restoration project, he said.

“Connection to nature, adventure and each other” were values the tour strived to uphold.

It had been named Best Tourism Activity or Business within either New Zealand, the South Pacific or the world eight times now and received the first B Corp certification for a zipline business in the southern hemisphere early this year.

“The consistency of the awards is incredibly humbling and rewards the energy and effort we put into our biodiversity work and the visitor experience.”

Button said there had been ups and downs for the operation this year, with some challenges from the domestic slowdown but an influx of international visitors and a busy summer.

The operation was about 22% ahead of pre-Covid 19 foot traffic and American and Australian travellers were now “rolling into town”.

About 40% of its customers were from New Zealand and most of those were from Auckland.

Harriet Laughton is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty.