New Zealand ready to compete for its share of the MICE market

That country recently announced a "100% Pure New Zealand – Beyond Convention" programme, stressing its sophisticated meeting venues, stunning scenery and warm welcomes in modern, lively cities with luxurious accommodation.

Last week, Prime Minister John Key came to Thailand on a mission to tighten economic ties, and he was accompanied by Kevin Bowler, chief executive of Tourism New Zealand. Tourism and the MICE field were among the issues they focused on.

Thailand was chosen as the first nation for their visit before they headed to Indonesia and Singapore. China is also on their agenda before the end of the year.

‘Thai tourists important’

Bowler said that though few Thai tourists went to New Zealand, this market was considered an important one in Southeast Asia.

According to a report covering the 12-month period ending in September, 19,296 Thai tourists arrived in New Zealand, up from 16,576 in the same period a year earlier.

Spending per head during a nine-to-10 day trip among Thais averaged NZ$2,500 (Bt65,000).

During the period, about 2.67 million foreign tourists visited New Zealand, up from about 2.59 million year on year. In Asia, the Chinese formed the biggest group with 236,336 travellers, followed by 74,320 Japanese and 50,800 from South Korea.

There is no data focusing on New Zealand’s MICE industry.

Bowler said this was the first year that his country had jumped into this service officially. He attributed |its slow movement to a lack of facilities.

Although it is a newcomer in the field, he said he was confident that New Zealand would be competitive, as a unique nation offering standardised facilities and tourism sites for MICE travellers to explore and to have something interesting to do after they finished their work.

Tourism New Zealand will not worry much about the number of MICE travellers, but will focus on how much they spend.

In general, travellers in this segment spend two or three times as much as regular tourists.

The country is positioning itself as a premium MICE destination, thanks to its geographic location in the Pacific Rim.

The government has earmarked NZ$34 million to promote and support international business events over the next four years, with its focus on luring the US, Chinese, Indian, Singaporean, Malaysian, Indonesian and Australian markets.

It is also promoting the venues it has now and plans for the future, including the NZ$402-million New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland, which will be capable of accommodating 3,500 people.