Northland tourism operators head to TRENZ to market region's pearls

Tourists spent more than $1 billion in Northland over the last year. Photo/File

Thirteen tourism operators from Northland are heading to the TRENZ trade event this week, equalling last year's record number.

Northland had the third-highest number of operators represented at the annual business to business event of any region, Paul Davis of Northland Inc said.

Ian Candy of Adventure Puketi said TRENZ was an essential part of his business' marketing.

"It's where you get your biggest business connections and where you get your new products out there."

TRENZ is an annual event where New Zealand tourism operators sell their products and services to international buyers.

The 2017 event was being held in Auckland this week, and was run by Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA).

The event was held in Rotorua for the previous two years.

"It's a vital annual event," Mr Davis said.

"It gives the opportunity to market Northland without leaving New Zealand."

Mr Candy said TRENZ, social media and TripAdvisor were the business' main marketing tools.

Approximately 300 tourism operators from around the country planned to attend the event, including national operators such as Millennium and Copthorne hotels.

Approximately 40 of the exhibitors operate at least partially in Northland, TRENZ said.

Chris Roberts, TIA chief executive, said the event was at full capacity, with 377 buyers attending from 29 countries.

"These buyers are the most influential in terms of sending visitors to New Zealand," he said.

Last year's event attracted 350 buyers from 28 countries.

TRENZ described the event as "business-focused speed dating", where buyers and sellers meet one-to-one to discuss deals.

The TRENZ website describes the event as New Zealand's biggest tourism trade event.

Northland exhibitors included Adventure Puketi, Top Trail Hire and Tours, Dive! Tutukaka, Kiwi North and Coastal Kayakers.

TRENZ has been expanding every year, along with the number of tourists visiting New Zealand.

A record number of international visitors arrived in New Zealand over summer - more than 490,000 in December 2016 alone.

The New Zealand tourism industry set a goal of generating $41 billion in annual revenue by 2025.

The industry generated revenue of around $35b nationally last year.

Domestic and international tourists in Northland spent more than $1b in the year to March, according to MBIE statistics.

Mr Candy said the mid-North was not negatively impacted by tourist numbers.

"We're very lucky in the mid-North, we're not overcrowded yet."