SYDNEY – A record number of 45 Australian exhibitors attended the Pacific Area Incentives and Conferences Expo (PAICE) in Auckland, New Zealand last week.
“PAICE is an opportunity for Australia to showcase the A$3.7 billion dollars (about US$3.2 billion) of new investment in business events infrastructure around the country,” Tourism Australia’s managing director, Geoff Buckley, said.
“Conference and incentive infrastructure is expanding at an impressive rate. From convention centres to hotels, resorts and unique attractions, Australia is investing in new facilities across the country to meet the needs of this market,” he said.
Buckley said there are strong motivating factors for New Zealanders to choose Australia as their conference and incentive destination.
“Virgin Blue’s significant expansion of capacity across the Tasman, Australia’s wide selection of Green Globe accredited meeting and conference facilities and the publicity around Baz Luhrmann’s Australia is just the start. New Zealanders know better than anyone the impact a major motion picture can have on tourism and it’s with great anticipation that we look forward to the movie’s launch,” he said.
New Zealand is a crucial market to Australia’s business events sector and is the largest international market for business events in Australia, making up 25 percent of the inbound business events market.