Park Star Award

Sponsored by Tasman Holiday Parks

The Park Star Award is an individual award that recognises an outstanding holiday park staff member who is making a real impact at their park. Open to all park roles from management and operations to reception, maintenance, and housekeeping. This award celebrates the people who bring energy, dedication, and heart to the visitor experience every day. They actively seek to grow and develop in their role.

This role is by nomination – a colleague, employer or wider industry connection.

The winner of this award will be announced at the Holiday Park Awards on 30 July 2026 and receives a trophy to keep.

What the Judges are looking for

Judges are looking for an individual who brings genuine passion, strong values, and a positive attitude to their role – someone who makes their park a better place to work and visit, and who actively seeks to grow and develop. They want to see a person who has embraced their role, committed to their own learning, and demonstrated real progress in upskilling and adding value to their employer and business.
What sets a strong entry apart is evidence of meaningful, measurable impact. Judges want to see how the applicant has made a real difference to the guest experience – whether through the way they engage with visitors, the initiatives they have introduced, or the standards they uphold every day. A strong entry will also show how the applicant has contributed to the park’s success and fostered continuous improvement over the past 12–24 months, and where relevant, the difference they have made in their wider community too

Eligibility

This award is open to individual participants only. Joint or group submissions will not be accepted.
This award is by nomination only. This can be a colleague, employer or wider industry connection.
Nominee/s must be actively employed in a Holiday Parks at the time of the New Zealand Holiday Parks Awards winner announcement.
The Park Star Award is open to any park staff member regardless of role or time in the industry, from operations to reception, and everything in between.
There is no minimum or maximum tenure requirement; this award is based on impact, not years of experience.

Supporting Material

Supporting Material

Supporting material (optional) in PDF format can be submitted to support any/all of the criteria for the award. This material should be supplementary to your entry. This should be one document and not exceed 5 pages. It can include links to websites, online documents or video content (max. three minutes).
A career summary or CV (optional) can be uploaded. This should be a maximum of 2 pages.
A headshot of the nominee/s is required.
The names of two referees, including their contact email and phone number. If selected as a finalist, the referees may be contacted by a member of the judging panel. The referees must include one contact within the current employer/organisation and ideally one external contact who can illustrate the applicant’s experience and contribution.