Prospects bright for Hawke’s Bay business events industry

A familiarisation tour of local venues and experiences by visiting professional conference organisers (PCO) is the latest regional collaboration designed to grow the value of the business events industry for Hawke’s Bay.

This week’s two-day PCO ‘famil’ followed closely on from dual announcements which unveiled Hawke’s Bay as the host region for two major events industry annual conferences in 2020 – the New Zealand Events Association’s ‘Eventing the Future’ conference in September, and Conference and Incentives New Zealand conference in October.

Hawke’s Bay Tourism’s Chief Executive, Hamish Saxton, says the region’s events industry united behind all three collaborative efforts which have showcased Hawke’s Bay as a highly-capable business event destination.

“Business events offer considerable potential for a region like Hawke’s Bay, particularly as they tend to occur during our shoulder visitor season between about May and October.

“Hawke’s Bay is well established as an appealing leisure destination, highly regarded for our food, wine, cycle and art deco experiences. With increased visibility of our events-hosting capabilities, we feel very confident that business events organisers will see our region as a popular choice among their delegates.

“With this PCO ‘famil’ and next year’s two major events industry conferences, a great many business events leaders and planners from all around New Zealand are experiencing all that Hawke’s Bay has to offer, which can only be good for this region.”

My Saxton says the imminent availability of the redeveloped Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre, alongside the well-established credentials of the Napier War Memorial Conference Centre and a host of other venue, dining, and experience options, means the region has the necessary infrastructure to increase its share of New Zealand’s business events market – estimated at about 2.3% in the year to June 2019*.

“The final major piece in the puzzle is a regional approach in bidding for events under the Hawke’s Bay banner, where relevant. Based on my experiences to date, I have every confidence that the local events industry are completely on board with this approach.”

*source: Business Events Activity Survey, Year to June 2019 report – Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment.

29 November 2019

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