Holiday parks see benefits in convention centre

Holiday parks see benefits in convention centre

Holiday parks will benefit from the development of an international convention and exhibition centre by SKYCITY, their association says.

The news that negotiations between the government and SKYCITY will resume has been welcomed by Holiday Parks Association (HAPNZ) Chief Executive Fergus Brown.

A world-class convention centre will provide a real boost for holiday parks, New Zealand’s tourism industry and the country’s economy, Mr Brown says.

“New Zealand has some capability for hosting small to medium sized international conferences at present and has hosted some reasonably large international conferences in the past. However, we face increasingly significant constraints and competitive disadvantages compared to international facilities and locations, especially to our closest competitor Australia. We haven’t been able to compete for international association conferences of over 1000 delegates because we lack an appropriate scale facility,” Mr Brown says.

“Delegates to conventions will often stay before or after their meetings and travel the country. These visitors are big spenders and many will choose to travel by campervan and stay in holiday parks,” Mr Brown says.

“To attract these visitors we must have a national conference centre which can host the big events.”

It is estimated a national convention centre will boost New Zealand's economy by more than $90 million a year, Mr Brown says.

"Development of a world-class convention centre will enable the industry to target a whole new market that can't be accommodated by existing conference facilities.

“This is a completely untapped market segment for New Zealand, and will help us boost shoulder and low season travel," Mr Brown says.

ENDS

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