TRENZ, New Zealand’s premier international tourism trade event, will return to the Southern Lakes region next year, the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) has announced.
TRENZ will return to Southern Lakes, Queenstown in 2012
TRENZ will be held in Queenstown starting on Monday 7 May 2012. The event was held in Queenstown for the first time this year and the new location received overwhelming support from the industry, TIA Chairman Norm Thompson says.
“Queenstown performed superbly as a location for TRENZ, providing us with fantastic new opportunities to showcase both the region and New Zealand’s top tourism operators to our international delegates,” Thompson says.
“Work has already started to ensure we will make TRENZ 2012 even better, with improvements and innovations that will add real value for both international travel Buyers and New Zealand tourism operators.”
Buyers and Exhibitors at TRENZ 2011 registered extremely high satisfaction rates, with 99% of Buyers and 98% of Exhibitors saying their attendance was very successful or successful.
The Southern Lakes was rated highly as a host region, with delegates commenting favourably on the stunning scenery, the way the region embraced the event and the showcasing of tourism activities.
Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler welcomes the decision to hold TRENZ for a second year in Queenstown.
“The event was a great success in 2011, attracting high quality buyers and delivering a first rate experience. We’re confident the Queenstown region will get behind this opportunity and put on an even better event in 2012.”
“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to once again host TRENZ in 2012. The new format and location were very well received by international Buyers and Media in 2011 and we’re looking forward to building on that success in 2012,” said Southern Lakes chairman, Dave Hawkey.
“The success of TRENZ in the Southern Lakes is testament to the strong cooperation between the Queenstown, Wanaka and Fiordland areas. We look forward to showcasing our spectacular region to yet more of the world’s most influential travel Buyers and Media in 2012.”
TRENZ 2012 will be held five weeks prior to its Australian equivalent, ATE (Australian Tourism Exchange), allowing international Buyers increased opportunities to visit other regions of New Zealand before and after TRENZ.
While they are in Queenstown, TRENZ delegates will once again spend an afternoon enjoying a wide range of tourism activities around the region. The ‘Famil Afternoon’ was a successful innovation to the TRENZ programme in 2011 and will be repeated in 2012.
“We look forward to welcoming the industry back to Queenstown in 2012. The region’s autumn colours will be a splendid backdrop to showcase our tourism industry to the international market,” Thompson said.
TIA manages TRENZ, which brings together about 280 New Zealand tourism operators (Exhibitors) with a similar number of invited international travel and tourism buyers and media from New Zealand’s major tourism markets. The event directly helps to grow New Zealand’s tourism industry, worth $9.5 billion in foreign exchange annually. Hosted by the Southern Lakes region, TRENZ 2012 will be in Queenstown, 7-10 May 2012.
TRENZ is supported by Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand, Qantas, host region Southern Lakes and other industry partners.
For more information visit www.trenz.co.nz
