Nelson Tasman is a highly attractive destination for all types of business events, but don’t take our word for it. Here is what some business event organisers have to say about their experience of the region, including the flexibility and range of purpose-fit, unique venues on offer here, the extraordinary climate and the ease of accessibility.

Our biggest thanks to Nelson Regional Development Agency for all their help and assistance with the planning of the Latitude Homes Conference held this year. We contacted them to gain some advice on the region and to assist with creating a great programme and ‘wow’ did they deliver for us.

It was like having our own personal DMC. Tracee understood our brief and had set out a site visit programme for us that covered off all that we asked for (and more). She was so knowledgeable and connected that we left full of confidence that the region would do a great job of hosting the conference and that they did!

If you are thinking of conferencing in Nelson then your first stop must be Nelson Regional Development Agency – without a doubt they saved us time and money and helped us create a programme that was perfect for our group.
- Caroline Henty, Programme Director, BCD Travel
Conferences tend to take place April to November. Nelson Tasman typically isn’t as busy with other tourism at that time, so accommodation availability and more affordable flights are a plus. Local suppliers are also more likely to offer discounts to delegates during this time. Compare this with Queenstown where winter is a busy and costly destination, and our airport is only 15 minutes to the CBD versus destinations like Dunedin. The competing airlines and large number of direct flights from major centres makes accessibility a strong selling point.

Nelson Tasman offers so many unique venues and spaces that showcase the region, versus holding a conference in a hotel which could be anywhere in NZ. There’s a real range that can be used for conferencing. The Trafalgar Centre for example is perfect for a 250-delegate conference with trade stands and has ample offsite parking and the flexibility of bringing in your own suppliers and local suppliers. There’s also Old St Johns Church and Annesbrook Community Centre which can cater for Association Conferences on a budget and ones that require break-out spaces - and with the help of local on-the-ground venue managers, Nelson Venues & Events, these spaces are easy for Conference Organisers to use.
- Lea Boodee, Director, OnCue Conferences & Association Solutions
We held our conference in Nelson Tasman in April, and while we were there we also got to enjoy the Abel Tasman on a beautiful sunny day. The conference itself was at the Rutherford Hotel which accommodated all our attendees and we used two different conference rooms. The rooms were great, catering was fantastic, the hotel’s conferencing facility was flexible and the team were happy to work with our requirements. The advice and assistance from the Business Events team at the Nelson Regional Development Agency made a huge difference.
- Mariana Suarez, Marketing & Communications Lead, Apex Advice Group
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