MORE convention centres will be developed in Auckland, Queenstown, Wellington and Christchurch under the Tourism 2025 framework with the aim of growing New Zealand’s MICE sector.
Announced at TRENZ 2014, Tourism 2025 was developed to provide an overall vision for the industry, a framework to develop within, and context for individual businesses to contribute and build on. It targets turning tourism into a NZ$41 billion (US$35.5 billion) industry by 2025.
To do that, New Zealand is splashing out on convention centres in the coming years.
Speaking at a press briefing at TRENZ on Wednesday morning, New Zealand prime minister and minister of tourism, John Key, said: “We will spend NZ$34 million over the next four years basically trying to attract the business events market and that is very much perched around the convention centres.
“The Auckland International Convention Centre is under planning and due to stars at the end of this year, so by 2017 that would be a major (venue) with (capacity) between 3,000 and 4,000, so that will be a big addition to the Auckland market.
“There is also an announcement in Wellington that a new convention centre will be built (by private sector) and operated by Hilton, and Queenstown is under the final process for putting together a convention centre with some government investment,” Key added.
In Christchurch, a major convention centre is being built to replace the one destroyed by the earthquake in 2011.
Tourism New Zealand CEO, Kevin Bowler, said: “Arrivals to New Zealand are seasonal. It gets very busy during peak season, but can get quite low during the low season. Part of the Tourism 2025 strategy is how to attract travellers year round and business is events is a way to do so.”
The sector also provides opportunity for different regions to gain business from MICE travellers who are often extending their stay.
“As many conferences are held during shoulder and off seasons, they create demand for accommodation and other services at a quieter time of the year,” commented Grant Lilly, executive chairman, Tourism Industry Association New Zealand
