The New Zealand business tourism sector’s showcase event, Meetings, returns to Auckland in 2012, with organisers predicting it will attract one of the largest turn-outs ever.
Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) has confirmed that Auckland’s SkyCity Convention Centre will be the venue for MEETINGS 2012 on June 13 and 14.
The expo will showcase the diverse range of destinations, venues, products and services available in New Zealand for conferences, meetings, exhibitions, events and incentive travel programmes.
“The event gives conference and incentive organisers and decision-makers the opportunity to see all of New Zealand under one roof and to make connections with key people who can help them with the planning and execution of their next event,” says CINZ chief executive Alan Trotter.
“At Meetings 2011 86% of exhibitors walked away with business leads and an independent evaluation showed that in excess of $32m worth of business was generated as a direct result of the connections that were made over the two days of the expo so it’s a very significant event for our industry.
“A lot of key decision are made and important business relationships established as a result of what goes on at Meetings.”
More than 170 exhibitors from throughout the country will take part in Meetings 2012 and Tourism New Zealand is working with CINZ to bring overseas buyers from as far afield as the USA, China, Japan and South East Asia to Auckland for the event.
And in an initiative aimed at bringing new faces to Meetings some smaller stands are being made available to independent operators so they too can reap the benefits of being represented at the event.
As in previous years complimentary air travel and accommodation will be made available to those buyers who apply to attend Meetings through the Hosted Buyer programme. The programme covers both days of Meetings and gives attendees the opportunity to meet face-to-face with exhibitors of their choice as well as the chance to network with other buyers and exhibitors at social events.
Those interested in applying can find out more by clciking here.
“We always get a good turn-out of buyers from Australia but we’re also hoping to attract a large contingent of buyers this time around from North America, China, Japan and South East Asia as these are growing markets for us,’’ said Trotter.
“The expo is a fantastic opportunity for us to not only show overseas conference and event organisers the services and facilities that we can offer, but also for them to experience Kiwi hospitality and see for themselves some of our key destinations.
“Auckland has a reputation for putting on great events and I’m sure they will pull out all the stops to ensure Meetings 2012 is a huge success,” Trotter said.
It is estimated that New Zealand’s business tourism sector adds about $1 billion to our economy annually.
