ChristchurchNZ spotlights important role conferences play in driving off-peak visitation

Christchurch is to host seven large conferences from late August to late September, welcoming more than 2,600 delegates with an estimated economic impact of $3 million.

The city has been humming with conference visitors throughout winter, keeping hotels full and hospitality outlets busy. The ChristchurchNZ Business Events team has helped secure 20 large business events with 9,000 delegates from April to September, valued at $15 million.

Tourism New Zealand says the business events sector was worth $400 million to the country in 2023. Business events attendees are New Zealand's fourth largest market by visitor spend, with an average spend of $390 per day compared to $278 for holidaymakers.

ChristchurchNZ head of Visitor Economy, Kath Low advises conferences play an important role in driving off-peak visitation. In 2023, 83% of international delegate arrivals to New Zealand came off-peak, between March and November, compared to 62% of holidaymakers.

Low notes “the wider impacts of successful conferences are incalculable. As well as providing a major boost to the regional economy and increasing off-peak visitation, it gives locals an opportunity to participate in world class events, share knowledge with industry leaders and promote their products and services to a national and international market.

“With Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre already well-established, and One New Zealand Stadium set to open in 2026, Christchurch's superb new infrastructure is driving more and larger conference business to the city. Combined with increased air connectivity and new hotel capacity, Christchurch is set to attract an exciting series of events well into the future.”

In July, Christchurch hosted one of the world's biggest communication conferences, the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) 2024 Conference. It brought 1,300 international delegates from 61 different countries together for five days in the city, worth an estimated $2.5 million.

Next month, Christchurch will host New Zealand's first ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Skills 2024 training bringing key international business events experts to the city.

Low says business event visitors are also likely to stay on and travel adding “The South Island is considered a bucket-list destination and for time-poor professionals, our region ticks all the boxes. Within a couple of hours they can be immersed in stunning natural landscapes, a world away from the conference room.”

Successful conference bidding works years ahead and Christchurch Airport is already anticipating a further 10,000 passengers next year due to increased delegate numbers.

“Largely skewed to our off-peak months, demand to participate in conferences are an effective way of helping us smooth the seasonality impact of tourism to the South Island. A real boost for our Tasman airlines for next winter,” Justin Watson, Christchurch Airport Chief Executive advised.

ChristchurchNZ Business Events is a partnership-based business unit within the city's economic development agency, ChristchurchNZ dedicated to marketing and promoting Christchurch and Canterbury as a business events destination.

It provides a free service to help business events planners, buyers, and conference and incentive professionals develop successful events and find unique experiences and locations with the right venues and activities.

Image. Delegates outside Te Pae convention centre