Tourism New Zealand hosts Business Events training workshop

Published on : Thursday, December 5, 2013

This week Tourism New Zealand plays host to two key speakers from the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in New Zealand.
Held in Auckland, 3-4 December, 34 participants from ICCA members from around the country will attend two day long workshops focusing on how to create more effective bids for bringing International Conferences to New Zealand.
ICCA are specialists in the international association meetings sector and hold a wealth of information on international conferencing.
Tourism New Zealand International Business Events Manager Bjoern Spreitzer says, “The workshop is a great opportunity to bring some key players in the New Zealand conference industry together so that we can collectively improve our approach towards securing international conferences to New Zealand. The workshop is part of our ongoing work with ICCA and our commitment to the business events sector in New Zealand.”
Tourism New Zealand has also brought two international guest speakers to New Zealand for the conference, with Steen Jakobsen from the Dubai Convention Bureau and Noor Ahmad Hamid, ICCA’s Regional Director Asia Pacific both presenting at the workshops.
“On Thursday, an open session will be held where we will update the New Zealand industry on our business events activity this year and future plans. Our guest speakers will provide a broader update including insight into global trends with a discussion on the future of meetings in Asia Pacific,” says Bjoern.
Tourism New Zealand is responsible for the administration of the Conference Assistance Programme (CAP). The CAP provides assistance to any association or organisation that is in a position to formally bid for an international conference (of over 200 delegates) to be held here in New Zealand.
Earlier this year Tourism New Zealand received additional funding to significantly increase its presence in the conference and incentives space.
In September, Tourism New Zealand launched its first business events marketing campaign “Beyond Convention” in Australia, North America, China and part of South East Asia. Additionally a newly revamped business events website was launched promoting New Zealand as a world-class business events destination.
A newly established team is also in place around the world with business events managers based in Los Angeles, Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney.