A royal welcome from Auckland for the Conventions & Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) 2018 conference this week as punters side-stepped Harry and Meghan to attend a Polynesian-themed soiree at Lula Inn.

Discovering the historic venues now available in Parliament and receiving an exclusive invitation from the Speaker of the House were among the highlights of a Business Events Wellington-hosted famil in Wellington last week.

Auckland Conventions, Venues & Events' Lorena Marshall had a great time hosting some clients at the Mamma Mia musical, which is running for three weeks at Bruce Mason Centre.

The Spencer on Byron Hotel in Takapuna, Auckland held a function last night, as the team there looked to thank its clients and partners for their support over the years. 

General manager Greg Remmington said the night was all about the buyers. 

The inaugural Convene Networking Session took place at The Grounds at Whoa! Studios in Auckland last night.

The event was hosted by Convene Group in conjunction with The Production & Music Agency, Greg Ward and Pavlovich Coachlines.


The opening cocktail function at this year's Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo has proved a standout, with hosted buyers treated to an evening at the Old Melbourne Gaol. 

Home to notorious crims including Ned Kelly, the gaol was decked out to provide a truly 'one-of-kind' experience for attendees at this year's event.

There were some bowls being played at the Point Chev Bowling Club last Wednesday but most people were simply enjoying catching up with good friends at The Production & Music Agency's Christmas do.

Christmas wreaths were the order of the day when Heritage Auckland Hotel invited business events practitioners to a Christmas function on the pool deck last week.

General manager Marcus Keenan says 2017 has been a strong year all round, including in the conference, meetings and incentives sectors. And he says 2018 looks like being another strong performance.

The Hamilton & Waikato Business Events team hosted 13 guests in the mighty Waikato this past week on their last multi-day famil of the year.

On the agenda for the guests were Claudelands Conference & Exhibition Centre, Hobbiton Movie Set, Waitomo Glowworm Caves, Waikato Tainui College, University of Waikato, Hamilton Airport Venues, Sudima Hotel, SKYCITY Hamilton and more.

Pullman Auckland saw November away and headed into Christmas with a function for meeting and conference planners, as well as a few travel wholesalers, last week.

A small group of corporates. incentive operators and professional conference organisers got the VIP treatment from Spark Arena and The Collective last night.

The meetings, incentive, events and tourism communities turned up in force when Langham, Auckland rebranded as Cordis, Auckland on 1 November.

Great views of the racetrack, big screen action, a Rio Carnival theme and a range of entertainment were all part of the day when cievents and other Flight CentrCorporatete NZ businesses hosted clients and business partners to Ellerslie racecourse for Melbourne Cup Day.

• Arii Jade, DJ; John (JR)... Arii Jade, DJ; John (JR)...
• Karina Morello, Friday Photography; Dean... Karina Morello, Friday Photography; Dean...
• Greeting party… Brittany Burbridge, Mel... Greeting party… Brittany Burbridge, Mel...
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Jet Park Hotel and Conference Centre opened up its new outdoor green space function area last week, the final touches on two years of additions. 

'We wanted to showcase the finishing touches from what was started with the conference centre. It's been a massive project pretty much since 2015 with its concept and creation,’ says Kym Klein, marketing and communications coordinator, Jet Park Hotel and Conference Centre.

‘This is kind of the finishing touch. It’s open to regular guests, but opens up more opportunity for our conferencing clients – and there is complimentary WiFi in the area too.’

Attendees to CINZ 2017 convened over morning tea yesterday morning, after a full morning of conferencing. 

Day two of the conference has officially kicked off, and Thursday morning included the CINZ AGM and Board Member Voting take place, followed by a session led by Ziptrek executive director Trent Yeo - Tourism Design: Environment Experience & Exponentials. A second session on Carbon Neutral Conferencing was taken by Niki Bould, sustainability consultant, Ahika. 
Before lunch attendees could take part in workshop sessions, International Conference Insights, led by Deborah Sexton, president and CEO PCMA; Creating and Curating Social Media o Engage Your Customers, led by Vicki Allpress-Hill, director, the Audience; Presentology Skills: 7 Tips for a presentologist, Life after 'death by Powerpoint' , led by John Quinn, Presentologist. 

• Callum Mallett, New Zealand International... Callum Mallett, New Zealand International...
• Bree Jones, Dunedin Convention Bureau;... Bree Jones, Dunedin Convention Bureau;...
• Jeanette Stanton, Auckland Convention Bureau;... Jeanette Stanton, Auckland Convention Bureau;...
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Vector Wero is a whitewater park located in the heart of Manukau City, South Auckland.

The park features two white water rafting courses and 9,000 sqm of water, opening its doors today for a corporate day.

In total, five groups of around 30 people from companies around the South Auckland Region convened at the park to get a taste of the team building activities on offer.

FCM clients were treated to a pre-show event ahead of the Hailwood fashion show at this year’s new Zealand Fashion Week.

The event was held at the rebranded Grand Mercure Auckland’s new bar/venue, Custom Lane. Guests enjoyed specially designed  cocktails, canapés and oysters from a live shucking station.

Custom Lane is a new laneway that was launched following the multi-million dollar revamp of Accor Hotels’ Auckland hotel brand, launched as the grand Mercure Auckland. Custom Lane was inspired by the urban renaissance of city laneways, often seen in major cities like Melbourne and San Francisco.

• Samantha Dick (cievents), Tony Dickson... Samantha Dick (cievents), Tony Dickson...
• Kate Amiss (FCm), Gillian Knott... Kate Amiss (FCm), Gillian Knott...
• Nicky Primrose (Mitre 10), Megan... Nicky Primrose (Mitre 10), Megan...
• Anthony Bodle (FCm), Georgina Grey... Anthony Bodle (FCm), Georgina Grey...
• Shannon Whitta (FCM), Abhi Sharma... Shannon Whitta (FCM), Abhi Sharma...
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The New Zealand cruise sector wrapped up its 2017 conference last week. It was held at Auckland Museum and included an annoucement of a new name for what is now the New Zealand Cruise Association. The record turn-out of more than 200 delegates at last week’s cruise conference was testament to the importance of the sector on New Zealand’s tourism revenue. International speakers, media and delegates joined domestic attendees from all over New Zealand representing transport, tour operators, hotels, cruise lines and ports. The PCO was Event Dynamics.

• The Event Dynamics team of... The Event Dynamics team of...
• Amy Armstrong, Stamford Plaza Auckland;... Amy Armstrong, Stamford Plaza Auckland;...
• Mike Murphy, Intercity and Kate... Mike Murphy, Intercity and Kate...
• Bruce Krumrine, VP shore excursions... Bruce Krumrine, VP shore excursions...
• Lynley Martin, Skyline Skyrides Rotorua... Lynley Martin, Skyline Skyrides Rotorua...
• Tony Smith, Francis Travel Marketing... Tony Smith, Francis Travel Marketing...
• Mark Gilbert, Hassle-free Tours (centre)... Mark Gilbert, Hassle-free Tours (centre)...
• Gisborne tourism operator Dean Savage,... Gisborne tourism operator Dean Savage,...
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