The secret is out – Waiheke Island has been named one of the world's top 10 regions for next year in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2016 publication.

         Cable Bay Winery - Waiheke Mid Res

The travel bible has dubbed the island the "playground of the gods" and ranked it number five in the "Top 10 Regions 2016" list, alongside Transylvania, West Iceland, Valle de Viňales and Friuli's wine regions in Italy. This is the 11^th edition of the book which covers the best trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the upcoming year.

Mayor Len Brown says, "Aucklanders have always known Waiheke Island is one of the jewels in our crown and this accolade from one of the world's leading travel authorities only echoes that sentiment.

"In 2014 Auckland was named in the top 10 as one of the world's best cities and it's fantastic to now have Waiheke singled out as the only Australasian region to make the list," he says.

"This news also comes hot on the heels of Conde Nast Traveler including Waiheke Island on the Best Islands in the World List last week. The work we are doing to make Auckland a fabulous place to live and visit is clearly paying off with these kinds of accolades."

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development Chief Executive Brett O'Riley says this sort of recognition added weight to the city's marketing efforts to attract domestic and international visitors.

"The tourism industry is one of New Zealand's biggest export industries and is worth more than $5 billion a year to Auckland and supports more than 35,000 jobs," he says.

"ATEED works alongside public and private sector organisations to make Auckland a more compelling and attractive visitor destination.

         Mudbrick - Waiheke Mid Res

"More visitors to the region creates more jobs, more money for the economy and helps support the development of better infrastructure to accelerate the transformation of Auckland to the world's most liveable city."

The Top 10 Regions 2016 were independently nominated by the authors, staff and travel community of Lonely Planet, the world's leading travel media company.

The chapter on Waiheke Island was written by Lonely Planet's Chris Zeiher who has long been a fan of the region as a whole but made special mention of Ecozip Adventures, Mudbrick, Cable Bay, Oyster Inn, Wild On Waiheke and Fullers Vineyard Hopper.

"The secret is out and in 2016, Waiheke Island is welcoming the world to sample from its abundant offering and inviting all visitors to fall under its spell," writes Mr Zeiher.

"Waiheke is an electric, heady mix set against a Buddha Bar soundtrack: fast yet slow all at the same time – there's nowhere else on earth quite like it."

Discover why Lonely Planet is calling Waiheke Island the playground of the gods www.aucklandnz.com/waiheke-top-10

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