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| IN THIS ISSUE - 12 June 2019 |
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| Welcome |
Welcome to the winter edition of Bureau Remarks. Perfectly timed, winter has certainly arrived with Queenstown’s mountains covered in snow, signalling the start (fingers crossed!) of a fantastic ski season to come. This edition includes a lot of information and updates on activities, accommodation, venues, ski fields and much more.
The Bureau is also really proud to release its new Meet Queenstown – Queenstown’s Essential Business Events Guide. Here you will find all the information you need about Queenstown and why you should choose Queenstown as your next business event destination.
MEETINGS 2019, has just wrapped and once again was a very successful event. The Bureau exhibited alongside 14 Queenstown operators on our Regional Stand and feedback shows the interest in Queenstown is high with a lot of future business enquiries. We were also thrilled to host 10 Australian clients on a three-day pre-famil as part of the Hosted Buyer Programme, along with hosting all the international buyers from USA, South East Asia and China in conjunction with Tourism New Zealand. It was great to catch up with some familiar faces, but also great to meet new people and build new relationships - we are excited to work with you all.
We hope you enjoy reading these updates and if you need any assistance from the Bureau, from a full RFP to ideas and suggestions, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Warmest regards
Jana, Louise, Kiran and Chelsea
Queenstown Convention Bureau |
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| Queenstown Update |
 The Queenstown Convention Bureau has expanded its presence on QueenstownNZ.nz, with a micro-site that brings together Queenstown's conference and incentive offering for
event organisers and QCB clients. The site has a range of new features including segmented toolkits, capacity charts, news and
blogs, suggested pre- or post-programme itineraries for
delegates and our newly created Meet Queenstown Business Events Guide. Download Meet Queenstown here.
As it's housed within QueenstownNZ.nz, the Bureau pages link seamlessly to the rest of the site's rich content, itineraries, inspirational articles and range of experiences, accommodation and services available across the destination. Take a closer look at the micro-site here.
The Queenstown Convention Bureau have started using #MeetQueenstown on all social media posts. The hashtag is communicated to all people travelling to Queenstown for famils, encouraging them to use it when posting on their channels, and the QCB would love the wider C&I industry to start incorporating #MeetQueenstown into their social media activity to help build organic content.
The DQ marketing team have been busy producing another story featuring a passionate Queenstown local. This short video Creating a sustainable community features Sam Chapman, co-founder and mastermind of Sherwood Queenstown, a destination with sustainability and community at heart. Find out how to explore Queenstown like a local. Enjoy! |
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| Awards and Accolades |
Sherwood has been named in Expedia’s top 10 most sustainable hotels in the world. The list was determined by analysing guest sentiment and the volume of reviews globally to discover hotels having the largest impact. Read more
Real Journeys’ Doubtful Sound Overnight Cruise and Camp Glenorchy have both received inaugural 100% Pure New Zealand Experience Awards at the Qualmark Awards. Real Journeys’ Walter Peak Gourmet BBQ Lunch was also a finalist. Tourism Minister Hon. Kelvin Davies said being a finalist was a significant achievement, and that the awards recognised tourism operators who demonstrated “real dedication to manaakitanga and environmentally sustainable business practices”.
Touch of Spice’s Jacqui Spice has been awarded Conde Nast Traveler’s Top Travel Specialist Award for the third year in a row. This accolade is awarded to Travel Specialists who have a uniquely in-depth understanding of the area they curate and promote, offering travellers and agents alike the best advice available. Read more
The Playground have gained a bronze award for sustainable practice from Qualmark, the Tourism New Zealand official quality assurance mark.
Kamana Lakehouse has been awarded Four Star Plus rating and Silver award for sustainable practice from Qualmark, the Tourism New Zealand official quality assurance mark. Read more.
New Zealand has been named among the world’s 30 most attractive countries by the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, ranking 21st. Check out New Zealand’s scorecard here |
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| Aviation Update |
Jetstar have increased flights from Wellington into Queenstown to match market demand from both domestic and international travellers. Read more.
Air New Zealand will launch the new non-stop service between Auckland and Seoul on 23 November with three flights per week between Auckland and Seoul’s Incheon International Airport. The service will increase to five times per week during the peak holiday period from late December to mid-February. Read more.
Air New Zealand has invested in 13 Airbus neo aircraft (seven A321neos and six A320neos) to replace the A320 fleet that currently operates Tasman and Pacific Island services as well as a further seven Airbus A321neo for anticipated domestic network growth. To date the airline has taken delivery of four A321neos and one A320neo for its short haul international network. Read more.
Air New Zealand announced a strategic partnership with the country's premier tourism and hospitality management college, Queenstown Resort College at its Te Tai Tokerau campus, based in Paihia. Read more.
Qatar Airways has launched its luxe Business Class suites into the New Zealand market. Read more.
Qantas and American Airlines welcome the US Department of transportation’s tentative approval of the carriers’ joint business to better serve customers flying between the United States and Australia and and New Zealand. Read more. |
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| Accommodation Update |
| Gibbston Valley Lodge and Spa is set to open its doors at the end of 2019/ beginning of 2020. Located at the heart of one of Central Otago’s founding wineries the lodge will offer a dining space, a tasting room and a cellar door offering additional spaces to hold your events at Gibbston Valley. Located close to the lodge will be 24 one-bedroom villas that look out over the vineyard. A spa will also be located onsite with three treatment rooms, outdoor hot pools, a sauna and a 24hour gym. For more information see here. |
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| Millennium Hotel Queenstown plans to start conversion of their twin rooms by the end of the year with the bulk of the bathrooms and the remaining twin room conversions to be refurbished in 2020. They also aim to complete refurbishment of the restaurant by the beginning of 2020. |
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| Kamana Lakehouse is currently renovating the exterior of the Lake View Rooms with all of the ground floor balconies being extended and with the addition of wooden privacy screens. These works and the last of the cladding to this entire block are due for completion by mid - July. In addition to this, Kamana Lakehouse have a new private dining space for 16pax called Tiro and have upgraded their Apres Ski Room and ski storage locker. |
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| Activities Update |
| Cargo Brewery has a new Brew your Own Beer team building product, where teams will be guided through the brewing process, competing for the best result, and completing a Pub Quiz at the end of the exercise. The results of the teams’ brewing efforts aren’t known until four weeks after the event, when Cargo will send the finished product to the client’s office, where teams will reunite for a taste test! Available for 20-100 delegates. Email hello@cargobrewery.co.nz for more details. |
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| Around The Basin Bike Queenstown have a new product called ‘Beach to Bay’ which includes a drop off at the Old Shotover Bridge and generous time to get back to the Around the Basin shop in Queenstown. The easy 15km track takes you alongside rivers, lakes and mountains and offers you lots to see and do on the way. Read more. |
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| Off Road Queenstown is now offering ‘Queenstown’s Ultimate Off Road Experience’. This small personalised daily tour uniquely combines a 4x4 tour taking in the highlights of the Wakatipu Valley before a one hour buggy adventure where the clients can self-drive or sit back and be a passenger with our guide driving. Half a day touring to capture the highlights of this region’s stunning scenery and showcase why this place is an adventurer’s paradise. See all products here. |
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Off Road Queenstown have also expanded their fleet of buggies allowing 42pax at any one time to experience the 2 hour return trip to Queenstown. In addition to this combo products such as Buggy & Clay combo, Buggy & Wakatipu 4x4 Scenic Tour combo and Buggy & Shotover Jet Combo can now cater for larger capacities. Read more here.
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| The Playground offers novel activities for groups such as Archery Combat, Human Foosball, and Bubble Soccer to name a few. The Playground have also made their site and facilities available for daytime venue hire for events with up to 200pax over the summer months. See full list of activities here. |
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| KJet Queenstown is excited to be involved in the redevelopment of the existing Frankton Marina into the ‘Queenstown Marina’, due for completion in mid to late 2019. The Marina, located on Frankton Road, has for a long time been home to KJet’s operations base and is a popular departure point for tour and conference and incentive groups. |
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| Raewood Fresh Queenstown have introduced a ready to cook meal range, catering for groups 4pax-20pax, conference gift packs, range of platters for pre-dinner events and welcome platters for guests arriving to self-accommodation, gift hampers, birthday cakes and picnic lunches. |
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| Venues Update |
Ripple-NZ have gone live with their new website which showcases all the services they have to offer your group when you are here in Queenstown. Take a look here.
Queenstown Ice Arena invites you to host your next event with them. Along with public skating 7 days a week, lessons, family fun, party hire and group activities, the arena has a fully licensed café offering a selection of local wines, as well as craft beers on tap. The venue is located in the Queenstown Gardens and has the capacity to host a banquet for up to 300pax. |
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| Ski Update |
Scheduled opening dates:
Cardrona Alpine Resort – OPEN
The Remarkables – OPEN
Coronet Peak – 15 June
Snow Farm – 21 June
Treble Cone – 27 June |
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Coronet Peak
Located only 20 minutes from Queenstown you can get up the mountain in no time, even if you’re not skiing. Sightseeing passes are available for you to head up and enjoy the views. Coronet Peak is also the home of night skiing, operating on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights from 4pm to 9pm from 22 June. Sit down for an après pizza and drink near a roaring fire at the base building, while DJs spin tunes in the background. Reach out to NZ Ski for all of their events and updates. |
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Cardrona Alpine Resort
Cardrona Alpine Resort is heading into its third winter season with its new ‘Chondola’ combined gondola and chair lift. The refurbishment of the restaurant in the base building has now been complete with increased capacity to 140pax. The Ticket Office/ Guest Services has moved to the carpark end of Rentals with a new ticketing and welcome area and the retail shop has moved into the old ticket office with a whole new offering. Pringles and Secret bowl will be open for advance skiers/ snowboarders with gated access only (chairlift to be installed for winter 2020). Read more about the developments here. |
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The Remarkables
Experience big mountain terrain at The Remarkables with sun-soaked chutes and untouched snow. Test out your skills in one of seven parks or take your first turns in the massive learner’s area. The Remarkables offers terrain and facilities that suit everyone from first timers to seasoned skiers and snowboarders |
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Soho Basin
Soho Basin is a private ski area offering pristine high-country terrain, world-class views and gourmet dining in an atmosphere of relaxed and understated luxury. They combine the fun and adventure of an alpine off-piste experience with the ease and creature comforts of high-end ski resorts.
With no more than two dozen guests per day, Soho Basin can craft bespoke experiences for your delegates despite the delegates ski ability. Mount Soho can cater for the non-skiers with their Snow Experience product but also have terrain suitable for intermediate and above skiers. Enjoy food and wine on the deck of our Alpine Hut, courtesy of Amisfield Winery & Bistro. |
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Snow Farm
The Snow Farm NZ is owned and operated by the Pisa Alpine Charitable Trust (PACT) and is operated on Queenstown Lakes District Council land. It is the only non-profit ski area in the Southern Lakes region. Terrain and trails include 55km of trails groomed for both skating and classic, 24km of Snow Shoe trail, Snow Fun Zone including 150m tubing/sledding hill.
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| Key Dates and Queenstown Events |
20-23 June – Real Journeys Queenstown Winter Festival
Falling for four days over the weekend 20-23 June, the programme for the 2019 Festival can be found here. It’s a celebration for Queenstown, by Queenstowners, showcasing Queenstown. Get your business and colleagues amongst it. Sign up a team to the Hospo Race, the Dodgeball Champs, the Queenstown Rotary Duck Race or one courageous team member to AJ Hackett Birdman (but not as you know it). Skycity Ball presents Studio 54 and the Winter Quiz are already sell outs but you can still get a group together for the Winter Festival Business Lunch supported by Ngai Tahu the Gibbston Valley Wines Long Lunch, Winter Fest Comedy Night on Thursday or Friday night, Skycity Jingo or any night of free live music on the Bathhouse Stage featuring Trinity Roots, Ladi6, Mitch James and many more. The 20-23 June 2019 Festival programme is live on www.winterfestival.co.nz with ticketed events on sale now.
23 Aug-7 Sep –Winter Games NZ, Queenstown
The Winter Games New Zealand is an annual elite international winter sports event, attracting the world’s best athletes. This will be the seventh edition of the Games, taking place during August and September 2019 in Queenstown, Wanaka and Naseby.
The Winter Games NZ is the premier winter sports event in the Southern Hemisphere and amongst the best in the world, with 26 snow and ice sports events at 6 venues over 17 action-packed days. Read more.
30 Aug-8 Sep – Winter Pride, Queenstown
This year's festival is continuing to grow the on-mountain series with a designated mountain resort hosting the festival each day so that we can keep the fun in one place. This year, our partner mountains are working with us to dedicate areas of their bars and restaurants to our pride festival, meaning music, plenty of socialising and a real pride vibe on the slopes. Read more about the festival here. |
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| Industry Events |
11-12 July – Singapore BE Key PCO Workshop and Training Session
10-12 September – IMEX, Las Vegas, USA Read more
15 October – Australian C&I Roadshow, Sydney
16 October – Australian C&I Roadshow, Melbourne
20-21 October - TNZ Global Meetings & Incentive Summit 2019, Chicago Read more |
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| Your Queenstown Convention Bureau Team |
Louise Clark
Sales & Marketing Manager
Destination Queenstown
PO Box 353 | 50 Stanley Street | Queenstown 9300 | New Zealand
DDI: +64 3 441 0709 | Mob: +64 27 600 6624
louisec@queenstownNZ.nz | queenstownNZ.nz
Follow us on Twitter @Purequeenstown
‘Like’ us on Facebook QueenstownNZ
Instagram @queenstownnz |
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Jana Kingston
Business Development Manager Australia
Destination Queenstown
PO Box 79 | Moorabbin | VIC 3189 | Australia
DDI: +61 3 9551 8968 | Mob: 0422 299 177
janak@queenstownn.nz |queenstownNZ.nz
Follow us on Twitter @Purequeenstown
‘Like’ us on Facebook QueenstownNZ
Instagram @queenstownnz |
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