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International business event delegate arrivals into New Zealand continue to grow strongly, with August 2026 arrivals well ahead of both last year and pre-COVID levels.
More than 8,000 international delegates arrived for business events in August 2026 according to Stats NZ international arrivals data, representing a 28.5 percent increase on August 2025 arrivals, and a 24.6 percent increase on August 2019.
Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), which represents New Zealand’s business events sector, estimates these international visitors contributed more than $27m to the New Zealand economy in just one month.
Lisa Hopkins, chief executive of BEIA, says the arrivals demonstrate the business events sector is going from strength to strength.
“Business events have been on the rise recently, with our reputation and world-class infrastructure helping attract events to our shores. It’s great to see that reflected in rising monthly international delegate arrivals, with August numbers well ahead of both last year and 2019.”
New Zealand welcomed 8,212 international delegates in August 2026, compared to 6,391 international delegates in August 2025 and 6,589 in August 2019.
Lisa Hopkins says: “We’ve seen strong numbers of delegates travelling from China, Japan, Singapore and Korea in August this year. The standout, though, was our friends from across the Tasman, with 4,874 Australians coming across the ditch to attend a business event.”
“The positive effect these visitors bring is felt across the country, with regional economies benefitting – particularly our venues, hotels, hospitality, tourism and transport operators. New Zealand also benefits from the expertise, networks and knowledge delegates bring.”
“This is a testament to the efforts of the Tourism NZ Business Events team, convention bureaux and partners from across the country, as well as the entire sector, which consistently demonstrates why New Zealand is an exceptional place to hold a business event.”
BEIA expects the momentum for international and domestic business events to continue through the remainder of 2026, and into 2027.
Lisa Hopkins says: “New Zealand is a safe, stable and secure destination, which appeals to event organisers and delegates alike.
“Looking ahead, we’re conservatively projecting around 70,000 domestic and international delegates will attend a business event between October and December this year. A significant number of international delegates is then expected in February 2027.”
Business events, both domestic and international, are an important economic driver for New Zealand. Research released by BEIA earlier this year showed multi-day conferences contributed approximately $925 million to the New Zealand economy in 2025.
Globally, the 2026 Events Industry Council Global Economic Significance of Business Events Study found that in 2025 business events generated US$1.3 trillion in direct spending, contributed US$1.8 trillion in total GDP and supported 9.7 million direct jobs worldwide.
