Silver Qualmark award for museum ‘a big deal’

JULIA WADE

31 Jan, 2022

One of Mangawhai’s star attractions has received well-deserved recognition for excellence as a distinguished tourist destination.

Following an assessment late last year, Mangawhai Museum and Historical Society was bestowed a ‘Silver Sustainable Tourism Business Award’ on January 24 by Qualmark, New Zealand tourism’s official organisation to quality travel experiences in Aotearoa.

Being pinned with the silver star, especially on a first time evaluation, was a stand-alone acheivement itself. It means the independent non-profit facility, managed by a dedicated team of three staff and over 40 volunteers, has been discerned as a ‘sophisticated tourism business which consistently exceeds visitor expectations’, whose ‘proactive leadership and management ensure that a culture of high performance is evident’ and the facility continuously strives for improvement to ensure visitors receive ‘a genuine, constantly-improving sustainable experience’.

Museum manager Emma McDermott says the recognition and endorsement from Qualmark, validating the museum as a quality tourism attraction ‘is quite a big deal for us’.

“The assessment – which was a little daunting – was in-depth and covered everything from the visitor experience,” she says. “The museum community know what a fabulous resource this is, however being given the recognition of a silver award at our first assessment validates this for us and for those coming to visit.”

Assessed by a tourism expert in four categories – economic, health/safety, social/people and environment/culture – Qualmark ‘helps businesses become more sustainable from a people, planet and profit perspective’, by identifying both positive aspects and those which require some attention and also support owners and managers to ensure ‘the business remains competitive and current in the changing operating environment’.

In his evaluation report, Qualmark’s tourism business advisor Andy Corson stated he was particulary impressed by the museum’s ‘sense of community’.

‘It would be impossible to run this operation without the assistance of the many volunteers. The fact there are so many locals freely giving their time is a great endorsement for the facility, management team and the Board… I thought that was outstanding.”

He goes on to say achieving a silver award is ‘a fantastic achievement for a first evaluation… a genuine reflection of the service and facility’.

“There are many exciting projects ahead. I am sure the museum will continue to grow from strength to strength over the coming year.”

McDermott, who has a background in marketing, confirmed there are several ‘exciting projects in the pipeline’ although the application is dependent on funding from either external grants or business partnership and sponsorship.

“As we explore funding opportunities, this year we are looking to offer even more interaction and further expand on our stories through the use of specialised app technology which as yet hasn’t been heavily maximised in New Zealand.”

Besides looking to grow the museum’s tourism appeal, the team are also working on increasing what they can offer education-wise, ‘starting with our strong relationship with Mangawhai Beach School’ whose students already visit the museum regularly on class trips to take part in

the intermediate programme, a mixture of learning the different aspects of the facility as well as ‘assisting in the new history curriculum requirements’.

“I’m so proud of everything that everyone does, including our volunteer base, to maintain the experience, the building and the displays at the standard that is so highly regarded,” McDermott says. “This silver star rating and the museum itself is a real credit to our amazing community.”

Shining brightly under silver star status, some of the dedicated hard working Mangawhai Museum and Mangawhai Historical Society team are all smiles behind the masks with their well-earned award. Pictured from left, volunteer John Peters, manager Emma McDermott, volunteers Julia Sutherland and Hilary Green, assistant manager Ana Greig and volunteer Ron Graham. PHOTO/JULIA WADE

“I’m so proud of everything that everyone does, including our volunteer base, to maintain the experience, the building and the displays at the standard that is so highly regarded.”