7th April 2020 By Shannon Williams | shannon@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker
Conventions and Incentives New Zealand has replaced MEETINGS with a new event at the end of 2020, as it looks towards Covid-19 recovery.
BE Reconnected would take place at Vodafone Events Centre in Auckland on 1 December, and replaces the annual MEETINGS, which was scheduled for later this month before being cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Lisa Hopkins
CINZ chief executive Lisa Hopkins said the event would focus on re-engaging and reconnecting vital industry relationships to help kick start business recovery.
“We have been looking at different ways to reconnect our members with customers, channels and each other, as part of the industry’s overall business recovery strategy,” she said.
“BE Reconnected will be a vital step in helping to secure business leads and super-charging the sector’s recovery. We want to engage buyers in multiple face-to-face opportunities over a short time, building new relationships and rekindling old ones.”
New Zealand’s business events industry was valued at around $500m per year.
“Business events are the highest-yielding component of the visitor economy,” Hopkins said.
“At the start of 2020, New Zealand was on the cusp of enormous business tourism growth with the opening of new conference venues, four and five-star hotels, national infrastructure, expanded airlines routes and new attractions. Instead, for many, there has been no business or revenue.
“As a key economic driver for our country, it is our organisation’s responsibility to plan and prepare for the recovery, for the sake of our clients, employees, community, regions and the industry.
“Our plan is to show both domestic and international clients that we are stronger, more passionate and more committed than ever to reconnect our customers with the incredible destinations, experiences and people of New Zealand, when a handshake, a hongi or a hug is no longer prohibited.”
The CINZ 2020 Conference and Annual General Meeting would follow the BE Reconnected event on 2 December.
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