Pioneering eco-tourism company Ziptrek Ecotours has been proudly wearing its conservation credentials on its sleeve last week.

Auckland has secured another business event for 2022, with the largest tunnelling conference in Australasia coming our way.

The Dunedin Convention Bureau has announced a rebranding to Dunedin Business Events, reflecting a growing trend in the national conference industry.

Online registration is now live for Hosted Buyers ready to sign up for New Zealand’s business events showcase, MEETINGS 2020 in Auckland next April.
 
Run by Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ), the annual MEETINGS exhibition is home to more than 190 exhibitors from 20 regions of New Zealand, who come together on one easy-to-navigate show floor.

Established tourism operators will go head to head with newer businesses in this year’s New Zealand Tourism Awards.

Air New Zealand’s much anticipated direct AKL-INV A320 service took off on 25 August to become the airline’s longest domestic jet service at two hours.

New Zealand’s premier annual business events showcase, CINZ MEETINGS 2021 will be held in Ōtautahi Christchurch for the first time in 13 years.

Millennium Hotels and Resorts New Zealand is again a proud sponsor of New Zealand Fashion Week.  As the social and accommodation hub for designers, buyers, and guests coming into town for the festival, Grand Millennium Hotels Auckland is in the heart of the action with the move of the NZFW show to the Aotea Centre.

Up to 5000 breast cancer paddlers are expected in the Waikato in 2022 for the International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission (IBCPC) festival.

Registration is now open for the Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) Annual Conference and AGM to be held in Queenstown from 29 to 31 October.

Skyline Queenstown has just installed 225 lights and 5.5km of cabling on its luge tracks now making night luging possible.

Elevate Corporate Team Events has been operating for some 23 years and has delivered over 3,800 corporate team events during this time. Elevate has widely been regarded as the original pioneer of corporate team building in New Zealand.

The Hawke’s Bay Opera House Arts & Events Precinct is set to open at the end of February next year, and in preparation three new appointments have been made to the team overseeing the facility.

Hobbiton™ Movie Set is on its way to completing its latest development set to open before the end of 2019. The structure, or ‘Hobbiton Hub’ as it is referred to, is an architecturally designed building situated at the top of the visitor carpark at The Shires Rest™. The 1200m² building will bring all of the business functions under one big roof for the first time, including administration, sales and marketing, accounts, operations and reservations.

Celebrity Speakers is celebrating 30 years in business in November. To celebrate they are pulling out all the stops with expansion into America, a brand redesign, commissioning world-first industry research, welcoming additional staff to the team and finally launching a new website.

In the 10^thmonth of its operation, Lower Hutt Events Centre has earned a 5 Star Qualmark rating with a Silver tier Sustainable Business award on 21^stMay 2019. Evaluated on the 16^thof April 2019, the venue showcased its superior operational capabilities and venue design.

In the lead up to opening in October 2020, Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has expanded its global reach into Europe by appointing leading international representation company, Worldwide Convention Specialists to support its lead generation activities.

Brackenridge Country Retreat & Spa in Martinborough, South Wairarapa has pledged support for the Tiaki Promise, which is, in short a set of guiding principles for visitors to follow, outlining how they can positively contribute to preserving and protecting New Zealand.

An exhibition stand that featured ‘blender bikes’ has won the Fieldays’ inaugural Contribution to Sustainability Award. The stand, by Zespri International, involved visitors creating their own smoothie masterpieces through the power of simple pedalling.

An exhibition stand that featured ‘blender bikes’ has won the Fieldays’ inaugural Contribution to Sustainability Award. The stand, by Zespri International, involved visitors creating their own smoothie masterpieces through the power of simple pedalling.

From 11 June (launch of Again Again in Auckland) Zoo visitors wanting a hot brew to go rather than a sit down hot drink in café crockery, can use their own re-usable cup or borrow an Again Again cup for a refundable $3 deposit.

Martinborough’s Peppers Parehua has become the latest local business awarded Dark Sky Friendly status in another step toward making South Wairarapa an international dark sky reserve. General Manager Nathan Maynard has signed the Martinborough Dark Sky Society’s charter that requires the business to ensure its lighting meets the rules of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) for managing night-time light pollution.

Auckland has ranked third out of all Australasian cities for the number of business events it hosts, overtaking Brisbane, Australia in the latest International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) rankings.

New Zealand’s largest city hosted 39 international association events in 2018 that meet ICCA criteria. The figure has moved Auckland up one place from 4^th in 2017. Sydney and Melbourne took the number one and two spots for Australasia respectively. Out of all cities in Asia-Pacific, Auckland ranks 17^th.

Head of Auckland Convention Bureau, Anna Hayward, says it’s fantastic to see Auckland featuring in the top three ICCA rankings for Australasia.

'Auckland’s business events industry has been working hard to promote the region as a premium international business events destination and this ranking highlights our growing popularity,' she says.  'It’s an exciting time for Auckland, we are getting closer by the day to the completion of the New Zealand International Convention Centre, there remains a solid pipeline of investment in infrastructure to support the visitor economy, as well as strong pool of professionals supporting events here.'

Adding to the business events offering this year has been the opening of the Domes at Auckland Zoo, offering a truly unique experience for event organisers, able to cater for up to 350 delegates. Refurbishments have also recently been completed on Auckland’s leading performing arts and events hub, Aotea Centre. Next month, Park Hyatt will open providing a welcome luxury addition to Auckland’s accommodation offering. Over the next five years 4,000-plus hotel rooms are in the pipeline with other leading international brands Ritz Carlton and Intercontinental joining the mix.

The NZ International Convention Centre (NZICC) will however be the “game-changer for Auckland,' says Hayward. 'NZICC gives Auckland the chance to attract a larger and new pool of international business events we’ll anticipate over time to further improve Auckland and New Zealand’s international rankings'.

NZICC will have the capacity to host 4,000 people for one-off events, or 3,000 people for conferences, exhibitions or dinners. With 32,500sqm of floor space it will be New Zealand’s largest purpose-built convention centre.It is set to open in 2020 and is already proving to be a popular venue, with a number of large-scale events already secured, including hosting some of the APEC events in 2021, culminating with Leaders’ Week in November where world leaders from 21 Pacific-rim countries will be in attendance.

The ICCA releases its ‘Country & City Rankings’ report annually.

The new Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre (WCEC) will have more than 10,000 sqm of purpose-built exhibition area and conference space for up to 1700 people, a 2500 sqm exhibition floor, two large, flexible plenary halls and meeting rooms, and a gala dinner capacity of 1400 people.

Auckland has secured the bid for the 34^th International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI), which will be hosted by The University of Auckland, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, from 21 – 24 January 2021.

International business event organisers will be converging on Auckland next week for New Zealand’s biggest showcase of conference and incentive products, on 29 and 30 May at ASB Showgrounds.

New Zealand’s largest annual business events trade exhibition MEETINGS, run by Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) will be moving to an earlier date in April next year.

Chief executive, Sue Sullivan says CINZ wanted to announce the new dates before MEETINGS 2019, so everyone could diary them well in advance.'With a busy Auckland venue scene for May and June, MEETINGS 2020 will be held a month earlier on 22 and 23 April at ASB Showgrounds, prior to the ANZAC Day long weekend,' she says.

'Our annual MEETINGS showcase is not to be missed. It is the stand-out event on New Zealand’s business events calendar. We are ensuring everyone has the 2020 dates locked in, and we are focused on delivering another world class event to all buyers and exhibitors.'

This year’s CINZ MEETINGS kicks off with a welcome function at Auckland’s new Aotea Centre on 28 May. The two-day event at ASB Showgrounds on 29 and 30 May will showcase over 190 exhibitors from 17 regions across New Zealand to more than 700 New Zealand, Australian and international buyers. Exhibitors include venues, theming companies, hotels, AV companies, regional bureaux, attractions and activities.

Online registrationis now open, and free for Day Buyers attending CINZ MEETINGS 2019.

New Zealand’s popularity is growing as an international conference hosting destination. New data from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranks New Zealand 46^th in the world as a conference destination, up five places on 2017, and 12^th in Asia Pacific.

A new sustainability partnership between ZEALANDIA eco-sanctuary and James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor aims to strengthen environmental goals and enrich the visitor experience to Wellington.

Demonstrating excellence in visitor hosting and a commitment to Tiaki - Care for New Zealand is what landed Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa an award at the inaugural Qualmark 100% Pure New Zealand Experience Awards. 

Graeme Abbot, General Manager of Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa, said the business had grown from a simple pool next to a tin bathing shed to a multi-million dollar complex.

‘We have never rested on our laurels and are currently building a $4.5 million development which will add five new thermal pools and an aquatic thrill ride to the complex. We also put enormous effort into conserving thermal water and have saved 58 million litres in the past 12 months. This has largely been achieved through the use of a $200,000 building management system (BMS).

’Our water is our life blood. Every drop is heated by the earth and infused with minerals that have anti-aging and pain-relieving benefits. It’s a natural process that scientists tell us takes 173 years, so we try not to waste a drop! 

The inaugural Qualmark 100% Pure New Zealand awards were presented to seven exceptional visitor experience operator winners by Minister for Tourism Kelvin Davis, at a gala evening held at Parliament.

Visitors to the Fieldays Kitchen Theatre will be treated to a wealth of knowledge and experience from this year’s group of eight confirmed celebrity chefs who will educate, entertain and inspire.This year’s chef line-up includes Peter Gordon, Claire Turnbull, Ray McVinnie, Brett McGregor, Simon Gault, Megan May by Hyundai, Marc Soper with Greenlea Butcher shop and Yvonne Lorkin from Winefriend.  

The business events industry will be out in force for MEETINGS 2019 in Auckland this month, the year’s largest New Zealand-wide showcase of regions, venues and suppliers.

Organised by Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) on 29 and 30 May at ASB Showgrounds, MEETINGS will host over 190 exhibitors across 17 regions from the top of the North to the deep South. Sue Sullivan, chief executive, says CINZ is welcoming 22 new exhibitors to MEETINGS this year.

Event planners will be lunching for a good cause when they sign up for the new Day Buyer programme at CINZ MEETINGS 2019 in Auckland from 29 to 30 May.

The new ‘Meet, Eat and Speak’ event will be a free lunchtime experience for day buyers, combining fare from award-winning social enterprise Eat My Lunch with a showcase of talented speakers from Celebrity Speakers.

More than 230 buyers, representing mainly inbound trade but also the incentive and convention sector and travel retail, attended the eXplore trade show at Eden Park in Auckland on Tuesday.

The recently formed Tourism Central Otago advisory board met in Roxburgh last week.