Sky Tower, Auckland |
TIA
is welcoming the expected resumption of negotiations between the
government and SKYCITY to develop a national convention centre,
following today’s release of the report by the Office of the
Auditor-General into the expressions of interest process.
“We
look forward to participating in the process to develop a national
convention centre,” TIA Chief Executive Martin Snedden says.
“The
latest visitor expenditure figures released today, showing a 6%
decrease in spending by international visitors since 2011, only
reinforce the need for a national convention centre.”
Conference
delegates are high-spending visitors, spending an average of NZ$365 a
night, compared to an international leisure visitor who spends around
NZ$200 a night.
It
is estimated a national convention centre will boost New Zealand’s
economy by more than NZ$90 million a year. It is expected to create 1000
jobs during construction and another 800 positions when it is
operational.
It will also support many more jobs across the economy, including in the accommodation, catering, transport and retail sectors.
“Development
of a world-class convention centre will not only create a major new
market for our tourism industry, it will contribute significantly to New
Zealand’s economic recovery,” Mr Snedden says.
The lack of a world-class convention centre prevents New Zealand from hosting large international conferences.
“We
have been losing conventions to other destinations, particularly
Australia, because we don’t have an international-scale convention
centre. Development of such a facility willenable the industry to target a whole new market that can’t be accommodated by existing conference facilities,” Mr Snedden says.
“While
we acknowledge that there are genuine concerns about issues related to
gambling, we are confident that the legislative process will provide an
opportunity for a thorough examination of the issues.”
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