Hamilton Gardens has been recognised among New Zealand’s tourism best, taking out the ServiceIQ Tourism Excellence Award – Small-Medium Business at this year’s awards in Christchurch, recognising its tourism and community impact, strong community relationships, sustainability and long-term success.
Judges praised the Gardens’ “brave” transformation, recognising the sensitive evolution from public and community spaces to moving into a semi-commercial tourist attraction while retaining strong community access, engagement and support.
Hamilton City Council Mayor, Tim Macindoe celebrated the award, saying: “Hamilton Gardens has proven time and again that it is a world-class attraction. This latest recognition reflects the vision, innovation and dedication that have made the Gardens one of New Zealand’s most loved destinations, enjoyed by Hamiltonians and the more than one million visitors it welcomes each year.
“Hamilton is extremely proud of our Gardens and the way they have evolved to become a sustainable world-class destination, which delivers significant benefits for both our community and visitor economy. This recognition is a tribute to the staff, volunteers, supporters and funders whose passion and commitment have helped make Hamilton Gardens the success story it is today, and to Dr Peter Sergel for the original vision that made it all possible,” he said.
The national recognition comes as Hamilton Gardens continues to attract strong visitor interest, boosted by the opening of its newest Enclosed Garden, the Medieval Garden, in September.
In the 10 days following the opening, the Gardens recorded more than 14,400 paid admissions and more than 6100 visits from residents and annual pass holders. Annual pass sales also jumped to almost four times the rate they were tracking at before the Medieval Garden opened.
The Gardens generated approximately $5 million in revenue in the last financial year, exceeding expectations and includes popular travel trade, events and retail sales.
Hamilton Gardens Director, Lucy Ryan said the award reflected the huge amount of work that goes into keeping the Gardens an experience people want to return to.
“This award is a huge credit to the hard mahi our staff and volunteers over the past five years during a time of big change,” she said.
“There’s an enormous amount of work that happens behind the scenes, from caring for the Gardens and developing new experiences to welcoming visitors through the gates. We’re always looking at what we can do next to give people new reasons to visit, explore and keep coming back.
“To have that mahi recognised at a national level is something our whole team can be incredibly proud of.”
The win adds to a growing list of national recognition for Hamilton Gardens. The attraction retained its Qualmark Gold Sustainable Tourism Business Award, with its most recent assessment recognising its approach to areas including inclusivity and long-term guardianship.
Hamilton Gardens was also named a 2026 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award winner and currently holds a 4.8 out of 5 rating from more than 3700 reviews on the travel platform.
