The business events department of the national visitor marketing agency will aim to submit 110 international business events bids worth NZ$253 million between July 2026 and June 2027.
While the number of bid submissions is the same as the current financial year, the value of bids Tourism New Zealand will be pursuing has jumped by NZ$68 million.
“We’re delighted to be closing out this financial year hitting our targets of 110 bids worth $185 million in value, which is the highest we’ve ever reached for,” said Tourism New Zealand’s global manager for business events, Penelope Ryan.
“Next financial year we will retain our target of 110 bids, but our value target is now set at $253 million. We’re confident we can meet this ambitious new value target and continue to deliver lasting benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand.
“There’s been a strong recovery in the business events sector numbers over the past year. We have a record number of international conferences booked and a very strong pipeline of bids and we want to build upon that,” said Ryan.
“Business events will continue to be a high-value part of our visitor mix, bringing people who spend more, travel outside peak seasons and contribute to growing New Zealand’s knowledge economy.”
Ryan welcomed the additional funding from the New Zealand Government announced this week, which will go directly towards supporting international business events bids.
In terms of international association conferences hosted, New Zealand is now tracking above where it was in 2019, according to the latest country rankings released by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) last month at IMEX Frankfurt, with New Zealand holding more of these international meetings in 2025 compared to pre-pandemic.
Since the pandemic, New Zealand has opened all three of its purpose-built major convention centres – Te Pae Christchurch in 2022, Tākina in Wellington in 2023 and the largest of the trio, the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), in February this year.
“New Zealand is recognised as a safe and welcoming destination. We now have three world-class convention centres open in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, which are attracting business events from across the globe,” said Ryan, adding that business events interest in New Zealand extended beyond conferences.
“We are also seeing increased interest from corporate and incentive groups out of North America, Australia and South-East Asia, including some that were originally looking at Europe,” she said.
