Fairwind Charters has been endorsed by Qualmark® as a Visitor Activity since 2007.

Qualmark® - New Zealand's official mark of quality.

Qualmark New Zealand Limited is New Zealand tourism's official quality agency. It is a government - private sector partnership between Tourism New Zealand and New Zealand Automobile Association. Qualmark licenses professional and trustworthy New Zealand tourism businesses to use the Qualmark® - tourism's official quality mark - to help international and domestic travellers select places to stay, things to do and ways to get around.

It's a role defined for Qualmark in the New Zealand tourism strategy to help achieve the industry's overall goal to enhance New Zealand's reputation as a world class visitor destination. Qualmark is run on a not-for-profit basis as a service to travellers and the tourism industry.

All non-accommodation tourism businesses seeking the Qualmark® endorsement are assessed against standard generic criteria based around customer expectations in six core quality areas.

The assessment criteria for the endorsement system are based on the quality tourism standards (QTS) developed by the industry under the guidance of the Tourism Industry Association (TIANZ) and published for the first time in 2001. Some sectors have further extended the standards to ensure they are appropriate for the special aspects and requirements of those businesses.

Qualmark has taken the QTS and additional standards and adapted them into assessment criteria capable of producing accurate and meaningful results for the full range of tourism businesses. These criteria were the subject of extensive discussion, consultation, trials and a formal pilot programme during 2002, prior to the launch of the endorsement system.

Assessment process:

The assessment process is an important part of Qualmark's relationship with operators and provides Qualmark with an opportunity to add value to their business and the industry as a whole. It is not a test but a process that the assessor works through with the operator to assist them to achieve Qualmark® endorsement.

The assessment is divided up into six "quality areas" that represent aspects of the business that contribute to the quality of the customer experience. Within some of the quality areas there may be two or more sections to the assessment depending on the type and complexity of the business.

Each quality area contains a series of minimum requirements. These are aspects of the service that must be in place in order to meet travellers' fundamental requirements. These minimum requirements must be met to ensure eligibility for an endorsement.
Each quality area also includes quality scoring criteria, laid out in three columns. Those in the first column represent reasonably basic customer expectations, the middle column reflect higher quality expectations, and the third column recognizes aspects that are likely to delight customers. Your quality score is determined by the number of ticks you have in each column.

Some businesses must also be assessed against additional criteria that are specific to their type of operation.

An overall score of 60% or more, and a score of at least 1 in each of the six quality areas, must be achieved to be eligible for the Qualmark® endorsement.

To visit the Qualmark web site click here

FairWind Charters, Opua, Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand : Tel +64 9 4027821 : www.fairwind.co.nz