TRENZ to benefit city

Trenz conference at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre back in 2007 Photo/File

Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick says hosting hundreds of delegates to TRENZ 2015 in Rotorua will be a special privilege for Rotorua and its Explore Central North Island partners.

"Not only will exhibitors and delegates benefit from business they conduct at the event, but the whole of Rotorua is on show and the economic potential for our district is huge.

"This will be our time to shine on the national and international tourism industry stage.

"We have a new Rotorua to showcase. As a city we've come a long way since 2008, especially with the work being done to revitalise the CBD and in areas like Eat Streat.

"It will be great to share these developments with buyers and exhibitors alike.

"TRENZ is worth tens of millions of dollars to the country and it's expected to directly inject around $2 million into our local economy during the week," Mrs Chadwick said.

TRENZ is New Zealand's largest annual tourism trade event, attracting influential international buyers from around the world as well as leading tourism industry entities and operators from across New Zealand.

The event was last held in Rotorua in 2008, having been shared between Auckland and Queenstown since then.

This year's event is already set to break records with more international buyers registered for the event than ever before.

During the four days of TRENZ, Rotorua will host more than 1000 delegates, including 700 exhibitors, 300 international buyers and around 45 international and domestic media. There will also be a number of VIPs attending the main TRENZ tradeshow and other events over the four days and nights.

Destination Rotorua general manager Oscar Nathan said the aim of TRENZ was to showcase the unique tourism opportunities on offer here in New Zealand, and to attract more visitors to the country through new and established travel sellers and promoters.

"With these important tourism buyers being in Rotorua, there's a real opportunity for retailers, tourism operators and hospitality providers to put their best foot forward. During the four days of TRENZ it's likely many delegates will be out and about in Rotorua.

"The message for our own retail and hospitality sectors is - whether retail, cafes, restaurants, bars, health services, supermarkets or transportation businesses - that each plays an integral role in our overall visitor experience and in providing a welcoming atmosphere for our guests."

TRENZ 2015 is being hosted by Destination Rotorua with support from other regional tourism organisations (RTOs) from across the central North Island, including Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Eastland, Hawkes Bay, Ruapehu, Taupo and Hamilton/Waikato.

"Securing hosting rights to get TRENZ back here in Rotorua and the Central North Island is something we've been working collaboratively towards for some time. Naturally we're keen to see if we can secure the hosting rights for next year as well," he said.

"In terms of TRENZ 2016, we'll need to wait and see whether we've done enough when that announcement is made next week," Mr Nathan said.