The Influencers: Ross Steele

Only the beginning

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre is a major piece of public infrastructure, built by the Crown on behalf of the people of Ōtautahi Christchurch as part of the city’s regeneration.

So it was apt that earlier this month, our first conference was the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga Looking Ahead Symposium, where Minister Grant Robinson discussed the Commission’s new Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2052.

After years of planning and months of preparation and training, it was fantastic to welcome delegates to the Centre as they enjoyed catching up face-to-face with their colleagues from around the country.

Not to mention, to see our team and building performing as they were meant to… bustling with activity.

And it’s only the start, with over 100 events planned for the remainder of 2022. Of those, more than 60 are multi-day conferences, including eight international events.

All up, they will bring over 67,000 people into the central city, and generate an estimated $37.2 million in direct economic value.

With our border now re-opened to more countries, and airlines starting to come back to our international airport, we are seeing ever increasing interest in bringing conferences to Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Looking past the end of this year, we have a solid pipeline of business moving forward.

In total, through to October 2024, we have 146 events scheduled, of which 88 are conferences – including 23 international conferences – which will bring close to 150,000 people into our city, allowing us to deliver on our promise of driving economic value and making a difference to our city.