Auckland’s newly-opened NZICC has already secured 120 bookings for 2026, positioning the country as a fresh competitor in the region’s events landscape.

Prior to NZICC’s opening, New Zealand had been losing major regional conferences to competitors like Australia and Singapore. Now, with the venue’s 2,000-delegate capacity and strengthened Auckland connectivity, it is already delivering results.

“New Zealand represents a new destination for consideration in the Asia-Pacific landscape,” said NZICC’s general manager Prue Daly. “Without a convention centre of scale, it’s been challenging for people to consider us.”

Daly reported a growing pipeline of future events, including major global congresses. “Australia is a big market for us just because of proximity, but we are securing international and Asia-Pacific events such as the Coral Reef Symposium, and Asia-Pacific Pest Association,” she noted.

Regional target markets for NZICC include China, Japan, and notably Taiwan, which Daly said is emerging as a new and key growth market. “Taiwan seems to present a really interesting opportunity. There’s been a lot of interest that maybe five or 10 years ago people weren’t considering,” she said.

Alongside the venue’s opening, Auckland’s connectivity and infrastructure have strengthened to support large-scale congresses. NZICC is also leveraging local expertise in agritech, medical research, and education as differentiators, while also targeting niche stories unique to the region.

The centre is projected to bring 33,000 new international visitors annually, generating approximately NZ$90 million (US$52.9 million) in economic impact. It is targeting 500 events per year with a goal of 500,000 visitor days into Auckland.

“We are hungry for business and competitive on pricing,” Daly told TTGmice.

Challenges remain as the NZICC builds its reputation against well-established Asia-Pacific venues. “We know the competition is strong. We are the new kid on the block, still building our reputation,” Daly acknowledged.

As such, the centre is partnering with Tourism New Zealand and the Auckland Convention Bureau for coordinated tradeshows and sales missions across the region.

Overall, Daly is optimistic about first-year success. “If we can have five Asia-Pacific international conferences in the first year and continue to grow that, then that’s really positive.”