"You Stay We Pay" Incentive to Lure Trans-Tasman Conference Business

An incentive scheme designed to attract over $1.5 million in new regional revenue is being launched by Positively Wellington Tourism’s Convention Bureau today.

Conference and incentive planners are being offered a NZD$100 per person You Stay We Pay rebate for Australian delegates as part of Positively Wellington Tourism’s ongoing marketing assault across the ditch.  

Chief Executive David Perks says the incentive – being run in conjunction with the Marlborough Convention Bureau – is being launched off the back of continued strong performance in overall visitation from Australia. Latest figures from the International Visitor Arrivals survey show Wellington continues to outperform other major cities and national growth of 2.2% in the country’s largest international market, with arrivals into the capital increasing 6.5% in the year to February.

 “No other New Zealand regional tourism organisation has an offer like You Stay We Pay in the market, however financial inducements to secure conference business are offered by a number of states in Australia,” Mr Perks says.

“Not only does entering this space enable us to be competitive against Australian domestic destinations, we’re launching at a time when New Zealand and Wellington are incredibly attractive courtesy of a competitive dollar and the awareness that has been built over the past year through the There’s No Place Like Wellington campaign.”

You Stay We Pay will apply to groups of over 50 conferencing at participating venues and staying a minimum of three nights with involved accommodation providers. An initial $70,000 fund has been allocated for new bookings made by the end of July and applies for events held through until the end of the year, Mr Perks says.

The marketing incentive fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar by participating accommodation providers, allowing for a target of 1300 Australian delegates.

“Incentive-driven campaigns are an important part of our marketing mix,” Mr Perks says. “We design them to plug business into traditionally soft periods, and the dollars used are injected into the region’s economy. The best bit is you only pay if it actually works.”

The incentive applies to a range of venues across Wellington, Wairarapa and Marlborough. A full list of the 28 participating venues and accommodation partners will be online at WellingtonNZ.com/conventions from midday today.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT)

PWT is the regional tourism organisation for Wellington. It is a council-controlled organisation primarily funded by Wellington City Council through the Downtown Levy, a targeted rate paid by commercial ratepayers in downtown Wellington. The Wellington Convention Bureau sits within PWT and is charged with marketing the region as a conference destination and securing business.

Wellington Tourism Statistics

·         The visitor sector contributes $1.4 billion in expenditure per annum to the region’s economy, an average of $3.8 million per day.

·         In the year ending March 2011, Wellington hosted 6495 conference events involving nearly 800,000 delegate days; this injected approximately $100 million into the economy.

·         Just 5% of Wellington’s conferencing visitors in the year to March were from Australia.

You Stay, We Pay Incentive Terms & Conditions

*full terms will be available on WellingtonNZ.com/conventions from midday Friday 6 May

·         The You Stay We Pay rebate applies only to Australian delegates attending conferences or incentives involving groups of over 50 pax. It applies only to new business contracted as of Friday May 6, 2011 for events being held before December 31, 2011.

·         You Stay We Pay cannot be used in conjunction with any other regional hotel/venue incentive offer.

·         The fund is limited and will be distributed on a first in, first served basis to qualifying applicants. Applications are valid upon business contracts being signed.

·         Third party accommodation bookings do not apply; bookings must be made directly with the accommodation provider.

·         To be eligible groups must use a participating conference venue for one of the two or more days, and stay a minimum of three nights with participating accommodation providers in the Wellington and Marlborough region.