With the opening of Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre looming, Business Events Wellington has secured hosting further international conferences in New Zealand’s capital city.

The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) have chosen Wellington for their Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) in October 2024. Tākina’s two levels dedicated to hosting conferences, will both be fully utilised by the 900 delegates expected to descend on the city for the 4-day event.

Event Manager Anna Smaragdi is looking forward to bringing the 2024 RANZCOG ASM to Wellington and the brand-new centre, Tākina.

“We’re delighted to be bringing our Australian and New Zealand members together in New Zealand for the first time in 7 years. Wellington is centrally located with easy access for all our members, as well as being the home to New Zealand’s government and a strong women’s health community, providing great opportunities for international networking and collaboration. Plus, it has a cool vibe and is a fantastic place to visit,” Anna Smaragdi says.

Another major conference the Business Events Wellington team is celebrating securing is the Trans-Tasman Member’s Choice Symposium to be held in partnership between the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and New Zealand Psychological Society. It’s taking place in Wellington during May 2023, and will be the first event in Tākina – even before its official opening the following month.

This is the first time the event will be held in-person having launched in 2021 with record virtual attendee numbers, and Wellington’s easy access to government officials and members of parliament were important factors in the city winning the conference. The ability to host off-site sessions at locations such as Zealandia and Te Wharewaka will add additional interest and value to members.

APS is the largest professional body representing psychologists in Australia with over 30,000 members. The event is expected to bring more than 600 delegates to Wellington.

“Post Covid, the needs of our delegates have changed significantly. We wanted to launch this symposium to the in-person environment and showcase how we can not only meet but exceed our delegate expectations. The New Zealand business events industry is adaptive, agile and willing to support innovation. We are thrilled to be working with Business Events Wellington to bring this vision to life” said event manager, Paula Rowntree.

Business Events Wellington works closely with Tourism New Zealand, which supported both these conferences.

Wellington’s new purpose-built convention centre, Tākina, will be able to accommodate up to 1,600 delegates, alongside exhibition space and stand-alone meeting rooms.

Bookings at Tākina are starting to fill with over 80 multi-day conferences on the calendar for the world-class facility, before the doors are officially swung open in June, 2023.

Business Events Wellington is also celebrating the opening of new hotels and venues including an 81 room Microtel in central Wellington, the first Microtel hotel to be launched by Wyndham in Australasia.