Mayor extends vote of thanks

The annual TRENZ exhibition, held for the second year running in Queenstown, deserved to be acknowledged as a major success for organisers and participants, Queenstown Lakes District Mayor Vanessa van Uden said.

Organiser, the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand in conjunction with sponsors Tourism New Zealand, Air New Zealand, Qantas and host region, the Southern Lakes should all quite rightly feel proud that the four-day event was a winner.

“I have had nothing but praise for TRENZ and received constant feedback that the 1000 plus attendees rated the event as nothing short of fantastic,” Mayor van Uden said.

The Mayor extended a huge vote of thanks to local operators, suppliers and regional tourism operators, (including Destination Queenstown, Lake Wanaka Tourism, Destination Fiordland), all of whom went the extra mile to ensure that the Southern Lakes Region was superbly showcased.

“Our guys pulled out all stops to ensure that we were a fantastic host and a worthy venue to showcase Destination New Zealand to the world. There is no doubt that those efforts will pay dividends for New Zealand tourism,” she said.

Hosting the event, which this year attracted 308 international travel buyers, meant local operators had enjoyed an opportunity to network and grow knowledge from multiple markets.

“Last year the exhibitors reported TRENZ generated $164 million of new business over 12 months, I have no doubt this year will see a similar result and that’s got to pay dividends for our local operators,” Mayor van Uden said.

Although the 2013 venue has been announced as Auckland, Queenstown would have TRENZ back in a heartbeat, she said.

“We wish Auckland all the very best but we would be there with welcome arms, should the opportunity arise again.”