Rotorua wins best stand award at MEETINGS trade show
7 July 2013
Rotorua has won the Best Regional Stand award at MEETINGS 2013, the annual New Zealand conference and incentives trade show.
Over two days, MEETINGS brings together buyers and sellers to grow mutual business opportunities and share knowledge and ideas.
Rotorua's stand was coordinated by Rotorua District Council's Convention Bureau and tourism unit Destination Rotorua Marketing. It was on show to 450 trade buyers from New Zealand, Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore, USA and India who voted for their favourite region.
The council's Convention Bureau manager Patrick Dault says MEETINGS was a great success and an opportunity to profile what Rotorua has to offer the Conference and Incentive (C&I) industry.
The C&I market is New Zealand's highest grossing tourism segment. Multi-day conferences, such as the ones targeted during MEETINGS, represent more than $39 million a year for Rotorua businesses.
The Rotorua Convention Bureau was supported by operators including Agrodome, Agroventures, Skyline, Rydges Hotel, Rainbow Springs, Distinction Hotel & Conference Centre, Novotel Rotorua Lakeside, Millennium Hotel, Tamaki Maori Village, Holiday Inn Rotorua, The Blue Baths and Te Puia.
We currently host 6.7 per cent of all multi-day conferences putting us in fourth place behind Auckland, Wellington and Manawatu. Increasing Rotorua's competitiveness and attractiveness is vital to the economic development of our region, says Dault.
Skyline Rotorua C&I sales executive Lynley Martin says MEETINGS is a great opportunity for the tourism industry in Rotorua to show a unified front and promote the region.
It was great to see the industry to come together to show off the world-class experiences Rotorua has to offer.
Volcanic Hills director Brent Park says the Conference and Incentive market is a great opportunity for Rotorua.
The C&I market is one of our key identified direct market sectors. To be part of the Rotorua 'family of fun providers' was always an important achievement for us, and to support other traditionally recognised brands is just amazing.