Otago is experiencing a boom in conference and event tourism.
A positive outlook for the industry, worth $55 million to Dunedin alone last year, has also been reported in Oamaru and Queenstown, despite some issues with venues and accommodation.
That issue, in Queenstown and Christchurch in particular, has been Dunedin's gain. Dunedin Venues has reported what its tourism development manager Kim Dodds described as "massive growth'' that is helping fill the Dunedin Centre, Dunedin Town Hall and Forsyth Barr Stadium, and is providing spin-offs for tourism operators.
The good news for the industry has emerged at "Meetings'', a Conventions and Incentives New Zealand's (CINZ), conference yesterday and today in Auckland.
The event brings together about 200 exhibitors from across New Zealand, including 28 from Otago.
They include the Otago Museum, Toitu Otago Settlers Museum and Dunedin Venues, Oamaru Convention Centre and operators from Queenstown and Wanaka.
Those exhibitors will meet about 400 buyers from New Zealand, 100 from Australia and 40 from Southeast Asia, India, China and North America.
CINZ chief executive Sue Sullivan said her organisation was noticing strong interest in New Zealand as a place to host conferences and events.
Mrs Dodds said this year Dunedin Venues had seen "a good 30% growth'' on 2015.
Some other destinations in New Zealand, such as Christchurch and Queenstown, were struggling to offer venues for conferences.
"New Zealand has actually recognised Dunedin has a conference centre which is one of the best in New Zealand.''
Conference organisers were also starting to look outside the main centres as they were getting sick of going to the same places in the North Island every year.
Examples of conferences in Dunedin recently were the National Rural Health conference earlier this year, which attracted about 500 delegates and the New Zealand Planning Institute conference in April, attended by
about 500 planners, resource managers, urban designers and environmental practitioners.
"For the first half of this year, our growth has been incredible,'' Mrs Dodds said.
Larnach Castle functions events manager Michelle Simpson said the castle was benefiting from the increase in numbers by offeringgala dinners to conference-goers, which provided about half the castle's business.
"The castle is here to support Dunedin Venues in the hopes that they secure conferences and we get a crack at some of the gala dinners,'' she said.
Enterprise Dunedin business events tourism adviser Bree Jones said since the Dunedin Centre and Town Hall reopened after being redeveloped, there had been "really strong growth'',
due, in part, to the Christchurch earthquake costing capacity in that city.
But it was helping Dunedin by boosting air travel to provide demand outside the summer period, making tourism operations sustainable year round, and helping with accommodation occupancy.
Enterprise Dunedin was working with the University of Otago to attract academic conferences like the 2013 marine wildlife conference in Dunedin, attended by 1200 delegates from 30 countries, meaning about 6000 bed nights in hotels.
Brooke Kofoed, of the Oamaru Convention Bureau, said conferences and events had "definitely increased hugely in the last couple of years'' in the town.
That made the usually quiet winter period much shorter.
The Brydone Hotel and the Oamaru Opera House were used as venues, but marquees were used where necessary and in one case, a wool shed was "done up'' to host a dinner, something that worked well.
This year, the town had hosted 350 delegates for the Irrigation New Zealand conference, among other events.
Queenstown Convention Bureau manager Regan Pearce said the market had "grown considerably'' in his area in the past year.
Queenstown was a sought-after destination, but a lack of venues meant it could only handle smaller groups.
"We are a destination that can only handle a capacity up to 200 or 300 people due the infrastructure we have at the moment.''
Tourism by numbers
Conventions and business tourism in New Zealand, in year to December 2015.
• International delegates stayed average 5.8 nights, spent estimated $350 a night, up 15% from 2014.
• Domestic delegates (from outside event region) stayed average 2.9 nights, spent estimated $509 a night, up 15% from 2014.
• Multi-day convention delegates spent estimated $472 million.
• Multi-day conventions generated an estimated 846,000 visitor nights.
• Total of 1,023,826 days at events estimated to have occurred (up 1% on 2014).
