Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA) has welcomed the New Zealand Government’s additional NZ$1 million investment in attracting international business events to New Zealand.
The country’s Tourism and Hospitality Minister, Louise Upston, announced the funding at MEETINGS 2026, which is being held at the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) in Auckland.
The funding will support Tourism New Zealand’s Conference Assistance Program and help maintain a strong pipeline of international conferences.
BEIA Chief Executive Lisa Hopkins says this funding is “a welcome boost for our sector.”
“It’s fitting that the Government’s investment into business events has been announced at MEETINGS, the country’s largest business events trade show, where destinations, venues, suppliers and buyers are creating the next wave of business for New Zealand,” Hopkins says.
New Zealand Tourism Minister Louise Upston with two well-wishers
“MEETINGS is where relationships are strengthened, opportunities are developed, and significant future business is secured. This funding will help strengthen that pipeline and support New Zealand to compete for more high-value international conferences.”
In a report released by BEIA earlier this year, multi-day conferences supported NZ$925 million in economic activity in 2025 and generated more than 735,000 international visitor nights.
Lisa Hopkins says the value of business events extends well beyond direct visitor spending.
“The immediate benefits of business events for New Zealand’s visitor economy are substantial, but the greater value can be found in what happens because an event has taken place.”
“International conferences bring decision-makers, researchers, investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to New Zealand. They create opportunities for knowledge to be exchanged, and for investment, innovation, and impactful international connections
Lisa Hopkins sees the announcement as a further show of confidence by the Government in the business events sector, at a time when New Zealand has a strong network of business events infrastructure.
“This investment will help bring more of the world’s expertise, ideas and influence to New Zealand.
“It’s an opportunity not only to attract more events, but to attract the right events – events that build our capability, strengthen our industries and connect New Zealand more closely to international networks and opportunities.”
Edited by: Peter Needham at MEETINGS 2026 in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland – © 2026.
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About the Author.
With more than 35 years in travel journalism, Peter Needham has filed stories from Fleet Street to Fiji, and just about everywhere in between. As Managing Editor (Australasia) for Global Travel Media, he shapes industry coverage with the steady hand of someone who’s seen fashions come and go and knows what lasts.
Since going freelance in 1993, his byline has appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Australian Financial Review, Reader’s Digest, and Qantas’ in-flight magazines. He edited Inside Tourism for seven years, wrote the long-running Travel Tales column for Vacations & Travel, and even crafted copy for Tourism Australia ahead of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.
A Reuters, Guardian and AAP veteran, Peter has travelled widely from South American backpacking trails to a Saudi military hospital, gathering stories the old-fashioned way: by being there.
