Trenz will showcase Rotorua

Pure Cruise director and operator Matt Horder

Local tourism operators say hosting Trenz, the New Zealand tourism industry's premium international trade event, will be hugely beneficial.

More than 1100 international and New Zealand delegates will arrive in Rotorua to attend Trenz from this Sunday to Wednesday at the Energy Events Centre.

They will be hosted by Destination Rotorua and Explore Central North Island. The Tourism Industry Association said the annual showcase will inject $2 million into the local economy, and is worth tens of millions of dollars to the country.

It brings international tourism and travel buyers together to negotiate new business deals with leading local and nation-wide tourism operators.

The showcase was last held in Rotorua in 2008 and has been shared between Auckland and Queenstown since then.

Pure Cruise director and operator Matt Horder said he had attended the conference in both cities and was looking forward to showcasing Rotorua.

"It's a huge benefit for us - we've always wanted to come back here for Pure Cruise, because we have a yacht it's very difficult to put it somewhere else, so it's ideal to have it here.

"There is better value because people can see, I think when people come to Rotorua they can see how well it's all linked up and get the geography of the place and see how close things are to other things, certainly with the lakes and operators around the lakes that we use."

He said being able to give potential clients an experience of the product was invaluable.

"To show people what we can do rather than just tell people, that's a huge difference when marketing a tourist activity."

Mr Horder said he would use the event to try to market Rotorua as a luxury destination.

Multi-Day Adventure owner operator Tak Mutu said: "Rotorua is different to every other tourist town - it's still got that wholesome feel."