IT’S ALL ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
With the New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland and Te Pae Christchurch expected to open in 2020, and Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre now in the planning, New Zealand is ready to take on a bigger share of the international multi-day convention market. And the local industry is working hard to ensure the experience is world-class.
WITH THE NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE IN AUCKLAND AND TE PAE CHRISTCHURCH EXPECTED TO OPEN IN 2020, AND WELLINGTON CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE NOW IN
THE PLANNING, NEW ZEALAND IS READY TO TAKE ON A BIGGER SHARE OF THE INTERNATIONAL MULTI-DAY CONVENTION MARKET. AND THE LOCAL INDUSTRY IS WORKING HARD TO ENSURE THE EXPERIENCE IS WORLD-CLASS.
New Zealand is welcoming more international conferences than ever before, according to New Zealand’s tourism marketing organisation, Tourism New Zealand. Tourism NZ said in mid-may that New Zealand’s popularity as an international conference hosting destination was growing, with data from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranking New Zealand at 46th in the world as a conference destination, up five places on 2017, and 12th in Asia Pacific.
“New Zealand is punching above its weight as a conference destination winning more conference business than ever before,” Tourism New Zealand business events global manager, Anna Fennessy, said in a media release.
New Zealand hosted 64 international conferences in 2018. In FY18 Tourism New Zealand’s conference wins were worth $49.5 million to New Zealand’s economy.
“Business events deliver significant economic benefits to our communities, they also allow for knowledge share between global and Kiwi experts and get New Zealand expertise on the world stage.”
Meanwhile Conventions and Incentives New Zealand has just completed its business events industry showcase,
CINZ MEETINGS 2019 which bought together more than 190 suppliers and 500 conference, event and incentive organisers in Auckland in late May.
Conventions and Incentives New Zealand chief executive, Sue Sullivan, sees New Zealand as a sought-after conference, incentive and event destination. “We are friendly, hospitable, innovative and great to do business with. This makes our industry a significant generator of income, employment, investment and knowledge-sharing for New Zealand.”
She said that with the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in Auckland and Te Pae Christchurch to open in 2020, and Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre now in the planning, “New Zealand is ready to take on a bigger share of the international multi-day convention market. Regional New Zealand will also benefit from these new venues, as large conferences book to take their sub-conferences to venues outside of the main centres.”
She told Management that the international buyers at MEETINGS were very much looking for the experience. “A venue is a venue but they are looking for the experiences wrapped around that venue.” They want to know about the region, the local culture, the food, and what makes Auckland different to
Sydney, as a conference venue.
She says conference organisers are looking for more knowledge around what enhances the venue itself.
Sustainability within the venue is even more critical and healthy food along with wellbeing and wellness also feature high on international organisers’ must-have list. And this is an area the New Zealand industry is concentrating hard on.
The food offering needs to reflect all types of dietary requirements and it also needs to be culturally appropriate for the broader range of delegates the big international conferences bring in, she says.
At MEETINGS, Sullivan says the international buyers were impressed with the very cohesive marketing across New Zealand’s incentives and conferences sector with destination marketing taking precedence over regional or venue marketing.
She says too the regions are popular for smaller breakout interest groups from larger conferences held in the main centres. M
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's Business Events Activity Survey for the year to March 2019 reported that a total of 560,900 delegates attended 5,500 conferences and conventions in the year ended March 2019, generating 1.17 million delegate days.
Compared to the year ended March 2018, all the conference and convention activity metrics have increased with the number of conferences and conventions up eight percent (from 5,100), the number of delegates up three percent (from 543,800) and the number of delegate days up 21 percent (from 0.97 million), says the MBIE report.
Around 30 percent of multi-day conferences and conventions and 26 percent of single-day conferences and conventions were held in Auckland in the year ended March 2019.