Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Leeann Watson: Business Canterbury CEO on the number of international business delegates visiting New Zealand rising by 50%

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Leeann Watson: Business Canterbury CEO on the number of international business delegates visiting New Zealand rising by 50% · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: International business events bouncing back almost at pre COVID levels
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: now stats and Jed says fifty percent jumping overseas delegates
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: in Q one that's sixteen and a half thousand people.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: What's at worth fifty four million bucks? Thank you very much.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Leanne what's in chief executive at Business Canterbury.
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: Good morning, Good morning Ryan.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: What's driving the increase?
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Oh? Look, I think New Zealand is certainly a great
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: place to come right now. It's a safe haven. We've
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: got some amazing convention centers now right across the country
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: and so you know, people are wanting to get out
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: to New Zealand and it's a great place to come
• 0:33
  Speaker 2: and have a conference, and it's getting easier to get
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: to and it's really great to see the year on
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: your increase across the country. You know, these events make
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: a significant contribution to the economy, as you've just outlined.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: What about the events centers that we've got the christ
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: Church Events Center, we've got the Auckland International Convention Center.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Do these things make a difference in actually dragging people here?
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Well, they absolutely do. And you know we've seen a
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: number of direct flight increases as well. Obviously they announce
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: the Bay in New Zealand last week. With the three
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: direct flight increases from Singapore, Tokyo and Perth. Those sorts
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: of things make a difference because it's just easier to
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: come to. But having those sort of world class facilities
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: available in the in the three main centers, I think,
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: you know again gives people choices. It makes it easy
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: for those involved in you know, organizing these big international
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: delegations to have a choice. Obviously in christ Church, you know,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: we've been up and running for about four years and
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: you know, to Buy Conventions Center contributes about around seventy
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: seven million to National GDP annually in about sixty three
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: million of that goes to the Canry region. So you know,
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: this is significant and these are the sorts of things
• 1:41
  Speaker 2: that we need to continue to attract to this country.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Lee, And do these people who come here and do
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: their conference and they fly and fly out, do they
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: ever come back like do we? Is it a chance
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: to you know, give them a bit of a little
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: strip tease and they come back for the full monty?
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: Look? Absolutely? And I think you know the important to
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: note here too is when we do have international delegates
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: in the country, they do tend to spend more than
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: the domestic tourists, you know, for example in Canterbury, so
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: those out of region delegates spend on average around four
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: hundred and ninety six dollars per day while in the region,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: and many of them, as you say, do stay for
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: a couple of days. You know, one of the probably
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: the disadvantages of New Zealander is it is a long
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: way to come for a lot of people, and so
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: you know, rather than just come for two or three
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: days of a conference, we do find that they might
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: stay for an extra two or three days and for
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: many of them it can be the first time they've
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: actually come into the country. So it's a great opportunity
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: to really showcase our cities in region to those people
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: at the same time and hopefully attrack them.
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: Back nice one Land Watson, Chief Executive Business Canterbury. For
• 2:43
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