To be held at the Millennium Hotel Queenstown, the First International Joint Workshop of JTC1 & JTC3 on Landslide Risk Assessment, Communication and Geo-education is expected to attract 350 delegates and generate an economic injection of more than NZ$900,000.
The winning bid was led by the New Zealand Geotechnical Society and had support from both Tourism New Zealand Business Events and Queenstown Convention Bureau.
“This conference is an important profile platform for New Zealand’s leading earth science sector, as well as a compelling opportunity to attract international visitation to Queenstown and beyond during one of our off-peak seasons,” said Tourism New Zealand’s global manager of business events, Penelope Ryan.
According to Ross Roberts, speaking on behalf of the New Zealand Geotechnical Society, Queenstown’s vulnerability to landslides contributed to the destination being selected to host the event.
“Landslides are one of New Zealand’s most significant natural hazards,” said Roberts.
“More than 50 per cent of the alpine land around Queenstown is mapped as known landslides, with the underlying rock very susceptible to deep seated failures.
“This event will help to develop the science and skills we need to keep New Zealanders safe from landslide risk for decades to come.
“This event encompasses the need to educate the next generation of landslide risk managers, the need to robustly understand landslide risk and the need to communicate that risk to the public and decision-makers so that real change is implemented.
“New Zealand’s vibrant and high-quality landslide research sector is well integrated with practitioners and government agencies responding to emergency events, which makes this event particularly attractive to international experts,” he said.
With a focus of the conference on geo-education development, the event will coincide with the relaunch of the Professional Master of Engineering Geology course at the University of Canterbury.
