Conference by associations? This destination’s a rising star

Long established as an incentive travel hotspot, New Zealand is seeing its allure grow as a destination for association conferences in recent years. This growth is fuelled by a compelling mix of increasing post-pandemic connectivity, burgeoning knowledge capital across key domains, and expanding convention infrastructure across the country.

Leonie Ashford, business events bids manager, Tourism New Zealand, said, “We've always been successful with incentives and corporate events, leveraging our accessibility from Asia Pacific. Recently, we’ve seen a growth in associations conferences, with real synergies between the expertise we have in New Zealand and the connections with our universities.”

According to Ashford, New Zealand has built up an expertise in the health sciences, agribusiness, screen and digital, as well as gaming.

Earlier this year, Tourism New Zealand made it easier for international events organisers to market the destination and attract events with a new Delegate Marketing Hub, featuring over 150 assets to help conference and event organisers promote their upcoming event in New Zealand.

Sights on Asia

Air connectivity and capacity have steadily come back to New Zealand’s key hubs of Auckland and Christchurch, with recovery of the Asian market reaching around 85% of pre-pandemic levels, according to Ashford. Buoyed by its strong network of air connectivity with APAC, Tourism New Zealand is intensifying efforts to attract association business from the region.

Beyond establishing a presence in regional MICE shows like The Meetings Show Asia Pacific, Tourism New Zealand has conducted roadshows to Malaysia and South Korea, in addition to collaborating with ICCA to grow its capability and association base in Asia.

Edward Kuek, Tourism New Zealand’s business events manager for Singapore and Southeast Asia, has also been tasked to build confidence, focusing on the corporate space and training programmes that have been rolled out to showcase New Zealand’s sectors of expertise, meetings venues, and university connections.

“A beauty of Tourism New Zealand is that we actually we work very strongly as a team. We have very strong partnerships with all three of our major cities for the conferences, and we do work together as a team and we ensure that an association is considering New Zealand that they will work with us,” said Ashford.

A push for sustainability and community

Significant strides in sustainability have been made, with major venues like Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre achieving Toitu net carbon zero certification. Qualmark, New Zealand’s national accreditation provider that helps tourism businesses become more sustainable from a people, environmental and operational perspective, has gained GSTC-recognised status.

Meanwhile, Maori culture and heritage are strong drawcards for event planners, with growing interest for business events to coincide with Matariki, the Maori New Year which usually takes place in end June. Unique activities like stargazing and whale watching during this period enhances the cultural experience for delegates.

“People love coming to New Zealand for our culture, our people, and the way we work together. Our focus on Maori culture and heritage, combined with our strong infrastructure, is helping us attract more conferences and events,” Ashford concluded.