Kaikoura's famous whale watching experience has made a big splash at the Responsible Tourism Awards in London - taking out the supreme award at the international award ceremony.
The small town operation went head-to-head with 2,000 nominees, hoping for success in their marine tourism category.
Whale watch bosses made the trip to London for the event and were stunned when they were announced supreme winners.
“Awards like this do a huge amount of good for NZ as a whole and for companies like our own, it's absolutely huge,” said Wally Stone of Whale Watch Kaikoura.
The company has come from humble beginnings - started 22 years ago by five local Maori families it now caters to more than 100,000 visitors annually.
The event is the largest of its kind in the world, with more than 5000 exhibitors from more than 200 countries.
Whale Watch Kaikoura - which has recently ventured into Australian waters in a joint venture with Queensland's Sea World - also won the Marine Environment category at the awards.
3 News