TRENZ (Tourism Rendezvous Expo New Zealand), which is run by the Tourism Industry Association, Tourism New Zealand and the Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs), is being held in Rotorua this week.
TRENZ, which has been running for over 25 years and was last held in Rotorua in 2008, is being hosted by Explore Central North Island Group (ECNI), a collective of eight Central North Island RTOs hosting TRENZ 2015. It is the largest international travel trade show, with more than 300 international travel buyers and media visiting for the trade show and more than 1000 people in total attending the event.
Whakatāne District Council Manager Business Services, Roslyn Mortimer, says the expo is a great opportunity for showcasing our District. “We have a lot to offer visitors to our District, and TRENZ is a great vehicle for targeting the agents who will be able to generate traffic in our direction.”
Tourism Bay of Plenty is representing the region from Waihī Beach to Ōhope Beach. Exhibiting with them are local operators Trinity Wharf Tauranga, Experience Comvita, Guided Footprints, White Island Tours, Frontier Helicopters, and Mataatua Wharenui.
Tourism Bay of Plenty hosted 10 hand-selected VIPs from Australia, the UK, India and Germany on a helicopter tour of the region, utilising three helicopters from Frontier Helicopters. They departed Rotorua before a landing on White Island, followed by a flyover of Mataatua Wharenui, a stop at Frontier’s Whakatāne Airport base, a flyover of Kiwi 360, Waimarino, Trinity Wharf and Mauao, and then another landing at Experience Comvita. The VIPs will have a tour of Experience Comvita before being returned to Rotorua for the continuation of TRENZ. These VIPs are high-quality international agents who have not experienced the Bay of Plenty before and will help deliver high-value international visitors to the region.
General Manager of Tourism Bay of Plenty and Chairperson for ECNI, Rhys Arrowsmith, says, “As Explore Central North Island is hosting TRENZ in Rotorua we have a premiere opportunity to showcase the offerings of the Bay of Plenty. With the event being held in Rotorua, we have greater opportunity to familiarise our international visitors with the region,” he says.
“The key tourism operators that we visited are export-ready and a significant part of our tourism export earnings. We aim to really wow these important buyers as they can help to significantly increase international visitors to the region, which will have a flow on effect for all tourism operators, retailers, accommodation, hospitality and other service providers. International visitors spend $110 million in our region each year on our local products and services, and we aim to increase this.”