Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) has revealed its plans to hold TRENZ, New Zealand’s biggest annual business-to-business travel and trade event, in 2022 and 2023.

The event, which showcases New Zealand’s tourism industry to influential international buyers, will be held at Auckland, 17 to 19 May 2022 and at Christchurch, 9 to 11 May 2023, with venue details to be confirmed.

However, while planning is currently underway for both events, TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said there is still a lot of uncertainty to consider.

“Given the uncertainty over when and how New Zealand’s borders will reopen, we do not yet know whether any international travel and tourism buyers will be able to physically attend TRENZ in May 2022,” Roberts said.

“So we are planning another event like the successful TRENZ Hui we held in Christchurch in May 2021, updating international market-ready New Zealand tourism operators on how they can prepare for the return of international visitors. If international buyers can attend, we will add additional elements to the TRENZ programme.”

Christchurch was set to host TRENZ in 2020, which had to be postponed due to the pandemic, but ChristchurchNZ general manager of Destination and Attraction Loren Heaphy said the city is thrilled to be hosting the event in 2023.

“We hosted TRENZ Hui 2021 which was a great success and of real value despite the inability to bring in international buyers,” Heaphy said. “We hope that at TRENZ 2023 we can host tourism operators from around New Zealand as well as our travel partners from countries around the world. We can’t wait to show off the progress that’s been made in Ōtautahi Christchurch in the past decade.”

The announcements come just ahead of next week’s launch of the new TRENZ Connect digital platform, where qualified international market-ready New Zealand tourism operators will be able to connect virtually with the international travel trade.