Wellington Woos Australasian Events

Wellington Woos Australasian Events

The movers and shakers of the Australasian conference and events industry are in Wellington this week to check out the latest the city has to offer as an events destination.

Show Me Wellington, the $110 million Wellington events market’s biggest opportunity to attract large-scale conferences and events to the capital, this year attracted around 600 professional conference organisers and event managers eager to check out the 100+ local businesses on show.

Positively Wellington Venues CEO Glenys Coughlan says Wellington is working hard to lure events that might have been held in Australia or other New Zealand locations to the capital and Show Me Wellington is an important part of this process.

“We’re aiming to significantly grow the number and value of events that Wellington hosts by actively competing with other destinations like Auckland, Melbourne and Sydney,” Ms Coughlan says.

“Wellington already hosts around 70 Australian business events or performances, including association conferences and show seasons, each year but there’s massive opportunity for growth – to double or even triple this number.

“Show Me Wellington is the perfect opportunity to show off what we can offer events in the capital.”

The Convention Activity Survey for 2012 showed that of the 20,000 multi-day conference delegates that came to New Zealand, around 1500 attended events in Wellington.

PWV is looking to double that number by the end of 2014 and double it again by the end of 2016 by offering more multi-purpose facilities such as the new look Shed 6, which will be opened tonight by Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism John Key.

Ms Coughlan says Shed 6 – which will replace the Wellington Town Hall during its seismic upgrade – adds an exciting new dimension to PWV’s venue offering.

“Most of the industry attending Show Me Wellington will also take the opportunity to look at what Shed 6 and TSB Bank Arena have to offer. Not only are we confident that this will convert to some short term business wins but we’ll also be selling the message that when the Town Hall reopens in 2016 Wellington will be uniquely positioned with two great mid-sized conference venues which is why we are so ambitious about our growth plans.”

James Chatterley director of Event Dynamics – organisers of trans-Tasman events – says his organisation has held more events in Wellington this year than in the past six.

“Wellington is an exciting events destination and Shed 6 should add even more to the popularity of the city,” he says.

“Show Me Wellington offers us a great opportunity to look at anything new or anything that has been refurbished.”

Paula Armstrong of ForumPoint2, which runs large-scale conferences and events around the country, says Show Me Wellington is an opportunity to experience first-hand the wide variety of venues, entertainment and opportunities available.

“We’re visiting Wellington with a number of conferences and events in mind.”

Ms Armstrong says Wellington is regarded in the sector as an excellent conference location with its compact centre, variety of venues in close proximity and vibrant pool of arts and entertainment options.

Also in Wellington from Australia for Show Me Wellington and a familiarisation of the city is a group of specialist international conference and event organisers and event managers from several large-scale associations.

More than 100 local businesses – from Seal Coast Safari and Zealandia to Te Papa, The Lanes, Boomrock and The Roxy – packed into TSB Bank Arena for yesterday’s event, showcasing what they offer the meetings, conference, incentive and events market.

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