Hosted buyer applications are now open for MEETINGS 2026 at the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland.
New Zealand’s largest and longest-running annual business events industry tradeshow will be held for the first time at the NZICC on 17 and 18 June 2026.
MEETINGS is run by Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), and its hosted buyer program is open to key decision-makers and organisers of business events, including conferences, trade shows, and travel incentives, from Australia and New Zealand.
BEIA Chief Executive, Lisa Hopkins, says business events professionals from across the Tasman and around the world are eager to be part of MEETINGS 2026 at the NZICC, and hosted buyer applications are opening earlier this year to reflect this interest.
Hosted buyer appointments at MEETINGS 2025.
“We can’t wait to debut the NZICC and Auckland city’s new infrastructure to the who’s who of the business events industry and show them first-hand the dynamic changes in the heart of New Zealand’s largest city,” she says.
“They include an extensive upgrade programme for Auckland Airport, one of the largest infrastructure investments in the country, plus the new City Rail Link project, and 18,000 hotel rooms in the region.”
Hosted Buyers receive complimentary travel, accommodation, invitations to premium networking events, including the MEETINGS’ official Opening and Celebration, and catering throughout the tradeshow across three days in the multi-functional spaces at the NZICC.
Fully hosted buyers can book a curated selection of 32 appointments over two days from a choice of over 250 exhibiting organisations and 18 different regions. For New Zealand business event organisers, both one and two-day hosted buyer options are available.
“This year’s appointment schedule gives hosted buyers flexibility to expand their availability to ensure a greater chance of meeting preferred exhibitors.
“Across one show floor and two days we have the best suppliers in the business events industry in New Zealand, including regional bureaux, hotels, venues, event management companies, activity and other creative and innovative service providers,” Hopkins says.
Hosted buyers also have the chance to join Auckland and regional familiarisation programs, including a one-day famil of the host city with the Auckland Convention Bureau on Tuesday, 16 June. Access to the latest information at the Tourism New Zealand Destination and Knowledge Hub, and the Celebrity Speakers Showcase will be drawcards for hosted buyers too.
Conference organisers visiting the 100% Pure New Zealand stand at the PCOA25 conference in Christchurch this December can apply to be fully hosted at MEETINGS next year.
MEETINGS is Aotearoa New Zealand’s only national tradeshow for the business events industry. It is the leading platform for connecting influential domestic, Australian and international buyers with key regions, meeting facilities, accommodation, off-site venues and activities.
Applications are now open online on the MEETINGS 2026 website.
Edited by Peter Needham – (c) 2025
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About the Writer
With more than 35 years in travel journalism, Peter Needham has filed stories from Fleet Street to Fiji and almost everywhere. As Managing Editor (Australasia) for Global Travel Media, he shapes the site’s industry coverage while continuing to write with the flair and authority honed over decades.
Since turning freelance in 1993, Peter’s byline has graced mastheads ranging from the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Financial Review to Reader’s Digest and Qantas’ inflight magazines. He edited Inside Tourism for seven years, contributed a long-running “Travel Tales” column to Vacations & Travel, and even penned copy for Tourism Australia ahead of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
Peter has travelled widely, a Reuters, Guardian, and AAP veteran, from South American backpacking trails to a Saudi Arabian military hospital, collecting stories as only a true newspaperman can.
