Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre was opened in June 2023. Photo Credit: Jason Mann
Business Events Wellington has over the last 18 months been
specifically targeting APAC associations with New Zealand members,
introducing Wellington and Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition
Centre to its top targets.
It has also conducted sales calls to Singapore recently. “We are
visiting the region again later this year to meet with potential clients
and we plan to attend The Meetings Show in Singapore in 2024,” said
Irette Ferreira, Business Events Wellington manager.
Its latest venue, Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre
opened in June 2023 as the city’s biggest infrastructure investment
since the Wellington Regional Stadium 20 years ago.
Drawing Asian events
The 36th International Symposium on Superconductivity (ISS2023) is
the first conference from Asian markets taking place at Tākina later
this year. “It’s the first time this conference will be hosted outside
of Japan and was secured in collaboration with Te Herenga Waka -
Victoria University of Wellington.
“Hosting ISS2023 is an excellent opportunity to showcase Wellington
and our brand-new convention centre to delegates from this market, and
will highlight Wellington’s research expertise in a sector that is very
important to the city.”
The city will also host The Asia Pacific Society for Physical
Activity’s 2023 Conference at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of
Wellington in November this year.
Six countries from the Asia Pacific region are in the top 10
countries visiting New Zealand to attend conferences which is
encouraging to see, including India, Japan, China and its largest source
market, Australia.
Key strengths
Wellington is often chosen by meeting planners due to the multitude
of research centres and universities located here. Key research sectors
include computer science as Wellington has the largest computer graphics
research group in the Southern Hemisphere, medical oncology, science
and creative technology, all of which provide a wide range of
opportunities for conferences to tap into.
As New Zealand’s capital city and seat of Government, Wellington is
also often selected for its access to government, governmental agencies
and the broad range of national associations headquartered there.
From a venue perspective, its brand-new convention centre is located
in the heart of the city, right opposite the national museum Te Papa.
and offers a range of flexible spaces suited to host conferences of up
1,600 delegates. Tākina has two floors of dedicated conferencing space
designed to host a single conference on each floor or one larger
conference (700 delegates) across both floors.