NZ primes convention pump in Barcelona

The $1 billion convention industry is gearing up for growth after a New Zealand contingent waved the flag for the first time at the world's biggest meeting and incentive trade show in Spain this week.

Alan Trotter, chief executive of Conventions & Incentives New Zealand, and members of the hotel industry, pushed the country as a safe, rugby-loving destination at the EIBTM-Global Meetings and Incentive Exhibition in Barcelona. The show attracts about 6000 international convention buyers, who book travel for industry conferences.

Visitors to the New Zealand booth were treated to local wine and schooled on rugby (and the winning bid to stage the 2011 Rugby World Cup).

With only about a quarter of the $1 billion in earnings from conventions coming from international conferences, CINZ is trying to broaden the country's reach. About 42,000 international delegates visit each year. Of those, about 60 per cent are from Australia. Trotter said data from a recent international conference in Auckland showed the 2500 delegates each spent an average $773 a day during the six-day meeting, representing a $20 million injection into the local economy.

"This daily delegate spend is more than five times the average daily spend of international tourists to the country," said Trotter.

Although Auckland, with the most convention facilities, grabs about 30 per cent of total business, delegates tend to travel to other tourist destinations outside meetings. Rotorua and Taupo are listed as the most popular regional destinations.