INDEPENDENT NEWS

Auckland Chosen As Venue For Conferences

Published: Wed 22 Nov 2000 03:23 PM
15 November 2000
The Voyage of Discovery Conference, a combined New Zealand Garden Industry Association and Nursery Industry of Australia event is to be held in Auckland in March next year and an Australasian Nurse Educators conference is to be held in October 2001, both with the support of Auckland City Council.
Support will also be given to Youth Skills of New Zealand, which has won the right to host a general assembly of 150 delegates from 35 member countries, most with accompanying families.
Councillor Victoria Carter, chairperson of the City Attractions Committee said that the convention or conference business is worth a great deal to Auckland's economy.
"The conferences will each be attended by between 300 and 550 people from New Zealand and Australia. It is calculated that with the spending on venues, accommodation, food and entertainment each conference delegate spends, on average, $550 each day they are in the city", said Councillor Carter.
"With these three events alone we can expect over $5 million dollars to flow through to Auckland businesses", she said.
Councillor Carter says the City needs to compete. "Other cities both here in New Zealand and in Australia have all recognised the value in hosting conferences and events and we must make sure that Council plays its part in encouraging this aspect of economic development."
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In the last two months the Council has provided funding for seven other events through its sponsorship programme. These are The Lantern Festival ($10,000); The Festival of Asia ($10,000); The Dragon Boat Festival ($10,000); The Great Fitzroy Mussel Festival ($4,000); The Writers Festival ($10,000): St. Patrick's Parade ($4,000); Senior Regional Kapa Haka ($10,000)
The financial assistance that Council is able to provide for larger events such as the Nurserymen's Conference and the Nurse Educators Conference comes through the bid and seed fund that was established by Auckland City to provide sponsorship to organisations wishing to bring large conferences or events to the City.
Councillor Carter said that sometimes this funding is to assist the organisation to maximise the right to host an event by bidding competitively with other cities, not only in New Zealand but internationally.
Auckland City can also assist by partnering an organisation that has already won the right to host a particular event in Auckland. Sponsorship is usually provided in the form of an interest free loan although sometimes up front cash sponsorship may be needed and the Council meets this need.
Ends
For further information please contact Councillor Victoria Carter
Telephone: 09) 529 1121 or 025) 377 018

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