Influential travel buyers descend on Rotorua

Rotorua – 8 May 2016

Some of the world’s most influential travel and tourism buyers will negotiate millions of dollars’ worth of new business next week as Rotorua hosts TRENZ, New Zealand’s annual tourism trade show.

More than 350 international buyers from 28 countries will arrive in Rotorua next week. This is the highest number of buyers to attend TRENZ since 2007 and is 10 per cent up on TRENZ 2015.

“Rotorua will benefit from the increased number of buyers who will be able to experience our unique landscapes, the authenticity of our Maori culture and our world class tourism offerings first-hand,” says Destination Rotorua trade manager Patrick Dault.

“It also illustrates the travel world’s appetite for New Zealand as a safe tourism destination with an unparalleled offering for visitors. This can be attributed in part to the fantastic work Tourism New Zealand has been doing to promote the destination offshore, Air New Zealand’s innovative approach to running and marketing an airline, and all the work the Tourism Industry Association (TIA) has done to ensure our country delivers the highest quality products and experiences.”

To put the value of these international buyers into perspective, each will send an average of 4000 visitors to New Zealand annually. Collectively this equates to 1.2 million visitors annually. As each visitor to New Zealand spends an average of $NZ3425 during their visit, these buyers could have influence over more than $4 billion coming into the New Zealand economy. Of this, more than $150 million could benefit Rotorua.

Destination Rotorua general manager Oscar Nathan says hosting these buyers is a huge opportunity to shine a global spotlight on the region.

“People sell what they know, so to have them here experiencing Rotorua’s unique landscapes, Maori culture and world-class tourism products first hand will undoubtedly generate a huge amount of business for the local visitor industry,” says Mr Nathan.

The flow-on effect of increased visitors to Rotorua will also benefit the wider community as a significant portion of tourism spend will drive business for local business owners and tradespeople providing goods or services to the industry or the visitors themselves.

TRENZ brings New Zealand tourism operators (exhibitors) together with targeted international travel and tourism buyers and media from New Zealand’s key established and emerging tourism markets. Hosted by Destination Rotorua, TRENZ 2016 is being held at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre, 10-13 May 2016.

The Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) manages TRENZ on behalf of the Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust. TRENZ is supported by Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand and other industry partners.

ENDS

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