Global competition to host high-value business events and conventions is fierce, but ATEED’s Auckland Convention Bureau team continues to deliver for our region, with recent event wins set to bring about 8,000 delegates and more than $15 million into economy.

Years in advance of events taking place, ACB’s expert team works alongside organisations and industry groups which want to host international conferences in Auckland, supporting their bids through the contestable process including showcasing the world-class accommodation and delegate experiences available in our region.

The development of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), which is due to open in 2019, has elevated Auckland to where we can now compete with rival cities in the Asia-Pacific for large-scale conventions in sectors where Auckland has world-leading capability.

New Zealand’s knowledgeable food industry network and Auckland’s strong business event offering have helped secure the International Union of Food Science and Technology 20th World Congress of Food Science and Technology, which will be held at the NZICC in 2020.

ACB – with support from Tourism New Zealand – worked with the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST) to develop the winning bid for the five-days event which will bring together 2000 of the brightest minds in food science, research and innovation from more than 60 countries. The event will contribute an estimated $4.25 million to the Auckland economy.

Anne Scott, NZIFST President, said it had wanted to bid to host this event for some time but previously didn’t have the resources – which is where Tourism NZ and ACB stepped in, with funding through the national Conference Assistance Programme, and specialist help.

Also in 2020, The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) will hold back-to-back conferences at the NZICC spanning five days – delivering 15,000 room nights for the city.

The 35th APAO Congress will be the biggest medical meeting ever held in New Zealand, with an estimated 4000 medical professionals and researchers from around the world coming to Auckland to discuss the study and treatment of eye disorders and diseases.

This will be followed by the IAPB 11th General Assembly, where 2000 eye care providers, international non-governmental organisations, UN bodies and others involved in the fight against avoidable blindness and visual impairment will meet in Auckland to share information and exchange ideas.

ACB worked with RANZCO, APAO and IAPB, along with NZICC and Tourism New Zealand, to win the conferences.