Rotorua hot for conferences
Reports from New Zealand say that this year is shaping up as a huge one for conferences in Rotorua, with the city’s new Energy Events Centre alone set to provide a boost to the local economy of at least $22 million, with 18 conferences bringing more than 13,500 delegates to the city and 32 other events booked so far for this year.
The biggest conference booked is September’s Early Childhood Convention which is expected to attract 2000 delegates to the Energy Events Centre and undoubtedly the quirkiest conference booked for the year, also in September but at the Convention Centre, is the Ufocus New Zealand-hosted gathering of people with an interest in UFOs and other extraterrestrial phenomena, expected to attract between 150 and 250 delegates from around the world.
Event Venues Rotorua GM Peter McLeod says that 2007 is a “huge” year for Rotorua in terms of conferences with the new Energy Events Centre raising the bar and already the number of conferences expected at the centre in the first year is nearly five times what was projected with eight times the number of delegates predicted.
McLeod said the potential for further growth was virtually unlimited, given the centre’s capacity, adding, “We’re not fully booked for this year but it’s a multiple-use venue and we have more bookings coming in all the time.”
“The Convention Centre and some hotels can take about 400 but anything bigger previously and we were looking at the Sportsdrome which was limited because of its age and the expense involved in converting it to a presentable standard.”
The Australian market hinged on Rotorua Airport gaining Trans-Tasman capability and Mr McLeod said the benefits of the new centre would be felt by the whole region in the long term.
Events provided employment and prosperity as well as social dividends in terms of making Rotorua a more vibrant city by attracting major events, with Rotorua’s previous limitations when it came to conferences seeing other centres leaving the city behind, but he added, “Now we’re back at the starting line with them all … there’s a huge growth potential.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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