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by Anna Hayward, Auckland Convention Bureau Manager

Auckland’s role as a host city for the Rugby World Cup in 2011 is a classic example of how major events can be catalysts for the development of MICE facilities. The legacy of this event helped kick off the growth of the city’s business events sector which has seen it reach the tremendous level it’s at now.

RWC2011 gave Auckland more confidence. We started to see the development of new infrastructure, beautiful old venues were refurbished, and we could suddenly provide delegates with a world class city experience once their conference was over. Auckland was able to offer a diverse range of high quality restaurants, accommodation and facilities; there were places to network and make new connections, new precincts to walk around and discover, and scenery and attractions to experience all within a short travelling distance.

The Auckland region began realising the value of a world-class business events sector: how they help attract more visitors, foster new ideas and networks, bring more investment, and create new jobs.

The business events industry is going from strength-to-strength and is continuing to play a role in fuelling the ongoing transformation of Auckland today.

Around 14,000 business events were held in Auckland last year, the equivalent to 1.5 million delegate days. The region hosted 30% of all multi-day events held in New Zealand in 2015, meaning Auckland had an average of 8.4 events a day.

Auckland is a city on the move. This rapidly growing economy and change that’s happening is being recognised globally. Auckland was included for the first time in JLL’s top 20 City Momentum Index in 2016, and the city consistently ranks high internationally for quality of living.

Major transformational projects like the City Rail Link, cycling network and the expanded SH1 corridor, will significantly improve transport and accessibility and there is more to come. Auckland already has a number of the world’s leading international hotel brands and a number of others have made announcements of their intention to build in Auckland.

Currently there are more than 6,000 hotel rooms available in the central city alone and these new additions will provide more options for conference and incentive groups as they come on stream.

We are excited about the opportunities the development of the New Zealand International Convention Centre will bring. The NZD$471 million, international convention centre will be a global hub of innovation and knowledge exchange in the heart of Auckland city. It will have 32,000 square metres of flexible functional spaces for a wide range of events including intimate meeting spaces on all levels, a convention capacity for up to 2,850 delegates. It will be a game changer for Auckland and New Zealand’s business events industry.

The face of Auckland is rapidly changing making it an exciting place to be.

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