Incentive treasures

The many fast-running rivers with their elusive salmon have contributed to New Zealand developing a collection of exclusive lodges with facilities for small meetings. The lodges are known for their open fireplaces, convivial dining rooms, spectacular views — in short, everything to make their guests feel pampered and special. Another plus for the conference or incentive- travel planner is the consistency of service. In almost every instance, the contact point will be the same person throughout the life of the project. It is quite common to find the service provider has been with that company for 20 or more years and knows and anticipates many details that groups haven't even got to thinking about. Movie success New Zealand has enjoyed a boom in tourism in recent years, thanks to the blockbuster movie trilogy The Lord of the Kings and the more recent King Kong. This has led to significant investment in infrastructure for the leisure and conference sector, most notably in Queenstown, where every scrap of real estate is being redeveloped to ensure maximum advantage is being achieved from every viewpoint. "New Zealand's profile is at an all-time high because of the movies," says Trotter. "As the world becomes a more dangerous place we are perceived as a safe and secure destination that has been blessed with magnificent scenery. We also have a small and friendly population with a huge cultural asset in our Maori heritage, which has only really come to the fore in the last five years in terms of tourism. "This combination, coupled with a plethora of small to medium-sized accommodation units set in areas of outstanding natural beauty and world-class food and wines, make us a highly desirable corporate destination." Hotel promise Aspokesman for Accor Hotels says the conference business that Accor has attracted from Asia is generally small to medium-sized groups and usually involves a local partner. Auckland and Wellington are the most popular destinations, while Rotorua has been the most preferred destination for day trips as it is easily accessible from Auckland. Over the past two years there has been an increase in incentive business, largely from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Korea. The incentive groups tend to opt for Queenstown, though if time is limited, the itinerary will be restricted to the North Island and focus on Auckland and Rotorua. One of the biggest hurdles for conference and incentive groups is access. Queenstown offers a very different and attractive environment for C&I groups, but until recently, only Air New Zealand flew directly into Queenstown on a year-round basis. Qantas now flies direct from Sydney, making it much easier for connecting flights from Asia. The frequency could still be improved, but the start of year-round services has been particularly beneficial for the C&I sector. Action capital The transformation of Queenstown over the past 15 years has been nothing short of phenomenal — and it seems set to continue. While the town is best known as the adventure capital of the southern hemisphere, where bungy jumping and jet boating first took hold, Queenstown today is all that and so much more. The town is located on the edge of Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by majestic mountain ranges, some of which are flecked with snow all-year round. It is truly a place of dramatic scenery whatever the time of year and whatever the weather. Meeting venues Meeting and incentive planners can draw on an unparalleled level of expertise for a town of its size, with six destination management companies alone. The deluxe, 82-room Sofitel Queenstown opened last September, bringing five-star comfort and service to the town, not that venues such as the Millennium and the Parkroyal haven't maintained a high level of service to meeting planners over the past few years. The Sofitel is located in town, but is on a slope that give guests sweeping lake and mountain views from every room. The Sofitel is targeting the corporate meeting and incentive market in Asia in a big way. Its state-of-the-art boardroom features the latest audiovisual equipment, which is ideal for up to 30 delegates. Queenstown Convention Bureau manager Lee Picken says the town's venue and attraction operators have taken a proactive approach towards the promotion of the destination in the business events market. "The fact we have two direct flights a week to Sydney all-year round with Air New Zealand and direct flights over the winter ski season to Melbourne and Brisbane is certainly keeping Queenstown front of mind for event planners," she says.