New convention centers of New Zealand to attract attention at AIME

The three new convention centres planned for the country will be a major selling point for New Zealand’s business events industry at AIME.

Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) and Tourism New Zealand will be spearheading a marketing push at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) in Melbourne to emphasise the exciting new infrastructure that will soon be available in New Zealand for business events.

“By mid-2018 New Zealand will have more than 6,000 delegate capacity across three new convention centre facilities in Auckland (3,500), Christchurch (2,000-2,500) and Queenstown (750),” says CINZ chief executive Alan Trotter.

“Auckland’s development at SKY CITY is expected to come on stream from late 2017, while Christchurch should be first off the block earlier in 2017. Queenstown is still working through plans but it is likely they will also be opening around the same time, in late 2017 or early 2018,” Mr Trotter says.

Christchurch’s new convention centre precinct is estimated to cost $284 million and will be set close to hotels, new shops, the Avon River and Cathedral Square. The site for the convention centre is due to be cleared for construction by August. Currently proposals are being considered from short-listed operators and developers and it is expected the master-planning and development stage will start from June this year.

The Queenstown Lakes District Council has identified a preferred site for its new convention centre, overlooking Queenstown Bay, and has passed a resolution allowing its chief executive to begin negotiations with commercial developers.

The council has approved a convention centre master-plan by Populous, the international company behind London’s Olympic stadium, Brazil’s Football World Cup stadium and Dubai’s 2020 World Expo Centre, and Auckland architects Fearon Hay.

An update of how negotiations are proceedings with developers is expected later this month.

“The new convention centres are going to open up new opportunities for our business events industry and give us the capacity to host much larger international gatherings. Such gatherings tend to have a long lead-in time so it is important out there now promoting our venues and drumming up interest. AIME is the perfect platform at which to do that,” Mr Trotter says.

Key suppliers from across New Zealand will be joining CINZ and Tourism New Zealand on stand 2828 at AIME. They include Air New Zealand, the Auckland Convention Bureau, Business Events Wellington, Claudelands, the Hamilton & Waikato Convention Bureau, Accor Hotels, Heritage Hotels, Millbrook Resort, Millennium Hotels & Resorts, the Queenstown Convention Bureau, the Rotorua Convention Bureau, Rotorua Events & Venues, SKY CITY Auckland Convention Centre and the Langham Hotel Auckland.

Visitors to the 100% Pure New Zealand stand will also have the chance to sign up to attend New Zealand’s own business events expo, MEETINGS, which is being held in Auckland in June.