MEETINGS will take place in Rotorua, on New Zealand’s North Island on June 19 and 20. The destination has not held the event for over a decade.
Lisa Hopkins, chief executive of Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA) which owns and organises the event, encouraged New Zealand’s industry not to delay their applications for a spot on the show floor.
“MEETINGS 2023 saw unprecedented interest, with exhibition space sold out by Christmas. We will have increased stand capacity in 2024, but we are still expecting high demand,” she said.
“Our post-event survey showed $157 million was signed at MEETINGS 2023 for business scheduled over the next five years.”
To help with the cost of exhibiting, the association is offering early bird exhibitor rates as well as a special option for first time exhibitors, whether they’re joining their regional stand or participating independently.
Applications for different levels of membership with BEIA will begin to open this week, with platinum members able to apply from tomorrow, gold members able to apply from October 25 and silver members from November 1.
Only New Zealand products and services are eligible to exhibit at MEETINGS, however hosted buyers attend from Australia, Asia and further afield, providing the New Zealand industry with a key international audience. One hundred buyers travelled to New Zealand from Australia for this year’s event, which was the most profitable ever, according to BEIA’s post-event survey.