Research released 16 February at the newly opened New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) highlights the significant contribution that multi-day conferences and business events make to New Zealand.
The report, the result of a 12-month study in conjunction with sector association Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), showed that in 2025, the sector delivered NZ$925m (US$559.4m) in economic and productivity contributions.
This was despite what the industry considers to be a softer year, amid global uncertainty and a fluid domestic economy.
International conference and business event delegates visiting New Zealand also spent more on average per day than an international visitor on vacation, with an average daily spend of $645 while ‘in conference’ – higher than holiday/vacation visitors – the latest International Visitor Survey shows the median daily spend for holiday/vacation visitors as $416.9 (source: https://teic.mbie.govt.nz/teiccategories/datareleases/ivs/)
The findings were announced by Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA) at ‘Te Panapana’, the first official business event held at the NZICC, which also featured leaders from Auckland’s and New Zealand’s business communities, alongside the business events industry.
Lisa Hopkins, chief executive of BEIA, said the research, produced by Shane Vuletich of Fresh Info, showed the case for continued support and increased investment to secure a sustainable events pipeline, while addressing a critical evidence gap for the sector. It integrates existing industry data with primary research to assess delegate activity, visitor behaviour and expenditure, resulting in the first nationally consistent dataset of the economic value of multi-day conferences to New Zealand.
Collected over the course of 2025, the study looked at not only economic contribution of delegates per day, but the value of a delegate from around the world, domestically and locally. It also tracked the contribution of companions, who accompanied delegates to the conference.
Together, multi-day conferences generated approximately 1.50m visitor nights nationwide. Total expenditure attributable to these events is $925m, made up of:
- $412m in delegate expenditure (excluding registration fees)
- $433m in event expenditure including delegate registration fees, sponsorship and exhibitor income, spent in New Zealand.
- $80m in companion expenditure.
Spend per delegate was $999 for host region delegates, $2,118 for domestic delegates, and $3,726 for international delegates.
Hopkins added: “This research is important because, until now, New Zealand’s business events sector has had to rely on fragmented and outdated data to quantify the value of multi-day conferences.”
With the NZICC now open and hosting events, New Zealand’s national network of purpose-built convention centres, alongside Takina in Wellington and Te Pae in Christchurch, is now complete.
Hopkins said the opening of the NZICC increased New Zealand’s capability to host more events, in more places, and at a greater scale: “We have a connected national network that allows us to compete internationally.”
