The first bookings have been secured for the new New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), with the city announcing it had won bids to host two large-scale international medical conferences in 2020.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO), and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) will hold back-to-back conferences over five days at the NZICC, which is scheduled to open in Auckland during the second half of 2019. The events will deliver some NZ$$11m (US$7.9m) in economic benefit to the city, including an estimated 15,000 room nights.
Brett O’Riley, chief executive of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), said securing international conferences of this scale demonstrated that Auckland is a world-class business events destination.
“The development of NZICC has meant Auckland is now able to compete internationally for these larger scale conference and association meetings,” he said.
The new NZICC facility is five times larger than the current largest convention facilities in New Zealand and will be able to host conferences for 4,000 people. It will have New Zealand’s largest theatre, with seating for 2,850 people.
