600 BUSINESS EVENT ORGANISERS TO ATTEND MEETINGS 2014

Over 600 business event and conference organisers are converging on Auckland this week eager to find out what new and exciting business events and tourism products and services New Zealand has on offer. More than 6,000 meetings are scheduled over the next two days during MEETINGS 2014 and they will provide an opportunity for New Zealand business operators to meet one-on-one with potential buyers.

Some 185 exhibitors representing every region of New Zealand will be on show at Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds, while more than 620 conference and event organisers will be in attendance. The buyers are all professional event organisers and decision makers who represent influential companies and associations from throughout New Zealand, Australia, China, North America and South-East Asia.

“MEETINGS is essentially a one-stop shop for them where they can see what new products and services are on the market and make business connections within the New Zealand industry that will help make organising their next big conference or event easier,” said Sue Sullivan, Chief Executive, Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ).

CINZ organises MEETINGS with the support of Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) and principal sponsor Air New Zealand. “It is two days of non-stop networking where we get to showcase the very best of what New Zealand has to offer. More than that, we also give our hosted buyers and media a chance to experience New Zealand for themselves before MEETINGS. We have been taking them out into all our diverse and exciting regions, north and south, to meet our exhibitors and to discover first hand everything we have on offer,” Sullivan added.

Six regions – Hamilton and Waikato, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington, Christchurch and Canterbury and Queenstown – have just hosted 56 Australian buyers on familiarisation tours this weekend prior to MEETINGS. Later in the week Tourism New Zealand is taking its contingent of international buyers and media on a series of post-MEETINGS familiarisation tours around the country.

For the first time the exhibition will be staged across two large pavilions allowing more space and flexibility for exhibitors and new opportunities for networking. MEETINGS event manager Jeanette Stanton said increasing interest from buyers in New Zealand’s luxury or boutique offerings has led to creation of a new dedicated luxury exhibition space, The Luxury Collection.

“Here we’ll be showcasing incentive travel products from boutique lodges through to luxury yachts and gourmet catering. Regional convention bureaux will also take centre stage at this year’s show, with seminars and briefings updating buyers about the free expert services and local knowledge they provide,” Stanton stated.