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Auckland’s business events sector is bouncing back with new International Congress and Convention Association statistics ranking the city in the top 100 worldwide for hosting international conferences.
The annual ICCA Country and City Rankings measure the number of international conferences hosted in a destination in the 2023 calendar year.
Auckland has jumped from 173rd in the city rankings with 11 conferences in 2022 to 84th with 27 conferences in 2023.
It is the first time Auckland has cracked the top 100 since 2018, with the number of conferences hosted in the city now nearing pre-COVID levels.
The city has also posted its best ranking in the Asia Pacific region in 10 years, now sitting at 15th.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited head of business events Ken Pereira says the positive trajectory is fantastic news for the region and notes there’s potential for yet more growth, with the New Zealand International Convention Centre opening in 2025, further increasing the city’s capacity for international conferences.
“After being voted as the best Meetings, Incentive, Conference and Exhibition destination for four consecutive years (2020 – 2023) at the World MICE Awards, this result is testament to the great appeal of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland as a conference destination. It’s recognition that the region is a great place to learn, play and do business, and acknowledges the excellent events infrastructure and professionals we have here,” Ken says.
“Winning these international conferences wouldn’t be possible without the wonderful advocates for our city who lead these bids, the great work of the Auckland Convention Bureau team, and the support of the Tourism New Zealand Business Events team.”
Auckland was New Zealand’s top city in the ICCA rankings. The 27 international conferences held in Auckland in 2023 attracted nearly 10,000 delegates and were worth an estimated $18.4 million to the economy.
Overall, New Zealand ranked 43rd in the world in the 2023 country rankings, hosting 56 international conferences, its highest ever international ranking.
This was up from 56th place in 2022 with 28 conferences, and a large leap from the low of five international conferences hosted in New Zealand in 2021 due to the global COVID-19 epidemic.
