New Zealand's convention bureau secured 64 international conferences in the last 12 months.
Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) said the meetings would be worth roughly NZ$79m (US$47m) to the economy through hotels stays, restaurant bookings, and other tourism-related activities.
Wins secured in the last year include the WONCA World Rural
Health Conference in 2026; Asia-Pacific Intelligent Transport Systems Forum
2027; World Indigenous Cancer Conference 2026; and International Precision
Dairy Farming Conference 2025.
In March 2025, TNZ received a NZ$3m (US$1.7m)
government funding boost to help accelerate bid
efforts to achieve the organisation’s stretch target of 110 bids worth NZ$170m.
However, the organisation exceeded this target with 112 bids (wins and losses)
worth NZ$173m.
A hundred of those bids have now been confirmed with 64 wins and 36 failed bids.
“We continue to accelerate momentum thanks to the
Government’s additional $3m in funding for the 2026 financial year,” said TNZ global manager, Business Events, Penelope Ryan.
Penelope Ryan Photo Credit: Supplied“We’re holding the 110-bid stretch target but aiming to increase
the value to $185m in FY26. We have conference bids in process for 2026 and
beyond, with wins confirmed as far ahead as 2030, highlighting the vital role
business events activity plays in growing the New Zealand economy now and into
the future.”
New Zealand has already secured nine conference wins in the
first month of the new financial year. Conference pipelines continue to grow
across New Zealand's three new key city convention centres – Te Pae
Christchurch Convention Centre, Tākina Wellington Convention & Exhibition
Centre, and the New Zealand International Convention Centre, opening in
Auckland in February 2026.
Ryan noted several of the resulted wins in the first month
of this financial year were in the smaller regions, including Dunedin,
Hamilton, and the Bay of Islands, where strong knowledge hubs helped to secure
conferences. “People often think of conferences as things that happen solely
within the four walls of a convention centre,” Ryan added.
“The magic of events in New Zealand comes with our
combination of world-class venues plus the unparalleled opportunities for real
world experiences and learning to bring the conference to life, surrounded by
our unique manaakitanga - our welcome and care for visitors.
“This combination is
putting us in good stead to target higher value and larger scale conferences,
enabling us to build on the value that business events deliver to New Zealand
and New Zealanders.”
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
