2019 Finalist Tourism Industry Aotearoa The Great Journeys of New Zealand "Industry Enabler" Award
Go With Tourism in partnership with Tomahawk was announced as a finalist in the New Zealand Tourism Awards for The Great Journeys of New Zealand Industry Enabler Award, (the finalist listing shown as Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) & Tomahawk – Go With Tourism).
This entry recognised the work Tomahawk did in collaboration with Go With Tourism, an initiative launched by ATEED/Tourism Industry Aotearoa, to support workforce attraction and tourism sector needs, effectively celebrating their partnership’s impact.
Tomahawk created the branding, the program framework, and designed and developed the website, enabling over 2,000 jobs to be filled across the New Zealand tourism industry.
2023 YoungTEC Rising Star Award - Georgia MacMiillan
Georgia MacMillan was joint winner of the YoungTEC Rising Star Award in 2023, recognising her as one of the standout young talents in the New Zealand tourism sector.
The award is part of the YoungTEC Awards programme administered by the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ), which highlights emerging leaders and rising stars in tourism.
Georgia shared this Rising Star honour with Morgan Potter from Central Otago District Council, reflecting her contribution and potential within the industry at an early stage of her career.
This is a respected individual accolade in New Zealand tourism that highlights industry-wide recognition of emerging professional excellence.
As a key T-Hawk in our Digital Performance team we are very proud of Georgia and her career growth in tourism and in marketing!
2024 Hyer’s Culture New Zealand Award Winner
Tomahawk was selected as a winner in the 2024 Hyer’s Culture New Zealand Awards, a prestigious recognition celebrating companies in Aotearoa with outstanding workplace culture, values-driven leadership, and people-first practices.
This accolade highlights our commitment to collaboration, creativity and a supportive team environment - a strong marker of excellence beyond just business performance.
Award accepted on behalf of Gina by Renee Goodsell
2025 BYATA Lifetime Membership Award - Gina Paladini
Gina Paladini, co-founder and Marketing Director of Tomahawk, was recognised with a Lifetime Membership Award by the New Zealand Backpacker Youth & Adventure Tourism Association (BYATA).
This award celebrated her longstanding contribution to the New Zealand tourism industry, including empowering youth tourism and her extensive career launching and leading tourism ventures before and at Tomahawk. From launching tourism companies (NZ Encounters, TourWriter, ResBook, Tomahawk) to championing women in tourism, Gina has been paving the way and inspiring others for years.
As Haydn Marriner said when announcing the award:
“Gina has been loud and proud in empowering youth tourism… and she is always supporting tourism mentoring and particularly empowering women in the tourism industry.”
2025 Finalist Tourism Industry Aotearoa Tourism Talent "Employer of Choice" Award
Tomahawk was named a finalist for the Tourism Talent "Employer of Choice Award", recognising its strong employer brand, workplace practices and attraction/retention of talent in the tourism sector - a significant industry validation of people leadership.
From the judges:
"Demonstrating strong, values-led leadership through co-design, Tomahawk has taken its team on a journey where everyone clearly understands the brand, its purpose, and values. In just two years, it restructured its business model to address turnover and drive meaningful, inclusive change. Judges were impressed by how this approach has fostered a culture of trust and respect, enabling both the business and its people to thrive, while also setting a powerful example of progressive leadership within the industry."
This recognition is a true testament to our incredible team. The collaboration, and the support for one another is truly inspiring. A huge thank you to our GM, Renee Goodsell, and our entire team for making Tomahawk such an amazing place to work every single day.
