Upston made the announcement on Tuesday evening at the welcome event for New Zealand’s flagship business events trade show, MEETINGS, in Auckland.
She unveiled the investment in the context of a broader goal to double the value of international tourism to New Zealand by 2034, to $19.8 billion.
“I see the business events sector as an incredibly valuable visitor market for supporting tourism growth,” she said.
“That’s why I’m thrilled to announce I’m committing an additional $3 million to Tourism New Zealand to boost business events attraction for a further year.
“This reinforces how important you are, how important this role is that you all play and I’m excited to see the positive outcomes from this investment.”
This will be the second significant injection of extra funding for business events via Tourism New Zealand this year, with NZ$3 million announced in March to augment marketing and bidding activity through the rest of the financial year.
The original $3 million allowed Tourism New Zealand to put in an additional 20 event bids and has already resulted in three wins, worth NZ$7.5 million. Overall, the first tranche of funds is expected to deliver NZ$30 million in value.
MEETINGS owner and operator, Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), applauded the latest funding announcement.
“The initial $3 million investment announced in March was a powerful starting point,” said BEIA chief executive, Lisa Hopkins.
“This second wave of funding sends a clear and deliberate message to the global market, New Zealand is here to compete for international business events and we’re in it for the long haul.”
“This is an exciting development for our sector and for the many international buyers attending MEETINGS.
“It provides renewed confidence and momentum for the next 12 months of bidding and business development.
“This isn’t just about tourism. It’s about opening doors to global knowledge, trade and investment. Business events bring together the very people who drive progress, scientists, innovators, policymakers, entrepreneurs. They create meaningful legacies for New Zealand.”
This second round of funding will be devoted entirely to supporting event bids for New Zealand, including providing event subvention where appropriate.
