Tourism industry welcomes convention centre agreement

Tourism industry welcomes convention centre agreement

The tourism industry is looking forward to seeing progress on the International Convention Centre following the design agreement between SKYCITY and the Government.

The new international-scale convention centre will create substantial economic benefits for the whole country, Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) Chief Executive Chris Roberts says.

“The lack of progress with building the convention centre was a hot topic at TRENZ 2015 in Rotorua last week. We are pleased to see progress is finally being made,” Mr Roberts says.

Business events were highlighted as a growth area for tourism in the industry’s Tourism 2025 growth framework, which aims to almost double total tourism revenue to $41 billion over the next decade.

“Cities all over the world are investing in convention centres because they can see the potential, but New Zealand has been lagging behind. The International Convention Centre will allow us to target a valuable new sector of the convention market that we have not previously been able to accommodate,” Mr Roberts says.

With many international conventions taking place during New Zealand’s off-peak season, the International Convention Centre will help increase visitor numbers at times when there is currently spare capacity, supporting jobs and businesses in the tourism industry.

Being able to host medium to large scale events will see accommodation bookings spread among Auckland hotels and provide flow-on benefits to a range of business sectors, including retail, hospitality and transport.

“TIA is also keen to see positive progress on convention centres in other parts of the country, particularly Christchurch,” Mr Roberts says.

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