NEW ZEALAND
j
Auckland Ambassadors
Steve Armitage is the General Manager
of Auckland Tourism, Events &
Economic Development (ATEED), and
Anna Hayward reports to Steve and
heads the Auckland Convention
Bureau—the organisation responsible
for attracting business events to the
region. Besides providing plenty of information, my
interview with them is relaxed and fun.
During our interview I point out to Steve Armitage
that the Auckland Convention Bureau seems to have done
a great job attracting Australian businesses to take their
events across the water to their city, and he agrees. “So, do
you intend to increase your presence in Australia?” I ask.
“We’re looking at it,” is the guarded reply, but seeing Anna
Hayward’s grin, I can see that my question has given her
ammunition on what may be a hot topic of conversation
between the two.
The increase in the number of business events taking
place in New Zealand has been felt more in Auckland than
anywhere else. And whilst it would be tempting to produce
fancy graphs showing huge growth curves, Auckland has
been the first region to acknowledge the social problems
associated with such phenomenal growth.
A kiwi dynamo
There are talented people but once in a
while you meet someone who is best
described as a phenomenon. Sue
Sullivan falls into the latter category for
her seemingly endless energy and
drive. She has an MBA, has been a
teacher and travelled around the world
in a role that expanded a kiwi tourism business. In a two
year period she moved to Sydney, then Melbourne, was
involved in a company acquistion and had two children
(number three arrived 1 3 months later). Sullivan is head of
Conventions & Incentives New Zealand (CINZ), organiser
of the MEETINGS event .
Her extensive commercial experience and seemingly
endless energy have been put to good use. CINZ is at the
heart of what is one of the biggest booms in business tourism
that New Zealand has experienced. Rapid growth can be an
extremely stressful process to manage and I ask how she has
been able to achieve that.
“People are what make it work, it’s good to have
experienced team members but it’s vital to get young
people on board too,” she says. “The next step is to keep
them motivated.” As part of that process she has set up a
mentoring scheme within the organisation and despite her
own breadth and depth of experience, has had her own
mentor up until very recently. “It’s something I started early
on in my career and will continue to do so.”
I ask who her next mentor might be, but that’s something
she would prefer to keep under wraps. I can only guess it
must be someone with a very high profile.
32 Chief of Staff | Issue 2 2019
If you are considering New Zealand as a destination for
your next event, Conventions & Incentives New Zealand can
assist executive assistants who are organising conferences for
fewer than 200 people, and incentives for less than 50.
New Zealand’s success is undeniable. They have thrust
themselves into the hearts and minds of anyone looking
for their next event destination, particularly Australian
businesses. There’s no doubt they have done the hard yards,
promoting, advertising and marketing this unique nation.
But managing the growth of this industry is not a set-and-
forget game.
Making sure everyone in New Zealand feels the success is
a huge task, and it’s down to people like these to make sure
that, as Kelvin Davis puts it, the kettle is on and they have
biscuits ready. S
This year, MEETINGS 2019 will take place in Auckland at the ASB Showgrounds on 29 to 30 May.
www.meetings.co.nz
Heritage hotels experiences
bookings boost
This year Heritage Hotels have seen a significant
increase in booking inquiries, in line with the
growth of corporate events making their way to
New Zealand in the last few years.
Heritage Hotels Director of Sales, Conference
and Incentives, Shelley Eastwood says they are
excited about the growth in the market, and are
keen to put their offerings on show at MEETINGS,
a key event industry conference in New Zealand.
“Our enquiries are up by 32 percent across
our key hotels from last year and we thought it
time to really put the ‘Highlight on Heritage’ at
MEETINGS. We have gathered our wide ranging
and versatile hotels in a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the
convenience of our customers,” says Shelley.
“This year we want to have as many of our
team with us for customers to put faces to
names and strengthen these valuable client
relationships,” adds Shelley.
There are also valuable destinational and hotel
updates. For example, the newly built South
Wing at Heritage Collection Waitakere Estate, is
experiencing growth in corporate meetings.
“Heritage Queenstown’s business remains
steady with a strong repeat customer base sitting
at 20 percent. The hotel’s award winning team
and the appeal of the uninterrupted lake and
mountain views from the Icon Room are a great
combination,” says Shelley.
“We are seeing many groups wanting complete
hotel buy-outs. In August, Heritage Queenstown is
booked by an overseas wholesale retail company
for four nights.”