New dining venue for conferences

Conference-goers will soon be able to enjoy dinner in the Amazon jungle or the top of Mt Tarawera thanks to an innovative 'new' Rotorua venue.

Events and Venues Rotorua launched their latest conference and incentive (C&I) concept to 40 invited industry guests last night - stagehouse dinners at the refurbished Civic Theatre.

Organisers will be able to select a scene-setting backdrop of their choice using large images to simulate experiences such as dining in a cowshed, an operating theatre or the Whakarewarewa Forest. Events and Venues will also work with Rotorua's Event Impressions to add smoke machines and laser lights, dancers and aerial silk acrobats, or extra furniture as desired.

Sales manager Brett Jeffery said by utilising the stage of the theatre, which was extended and extensively refurbished in 2010, Rotorua had a new C&I venue with a capacity of up to 200 guests.

Last night's launch began as a bustling Bangkok street scene and ended with dessert on a Parisian pavement.

"We wanted to 'wow' our venue conference caterers, function and conference and incentive co-ordinators by showing them first-hand the scale and scope of this new option available to clients," said Mr Jeffery.

He said the venue would benefit local hotels hosting conferences as they would be able to use their own caterers at the venue and keep the revenue, rather than sending guests to external restaurants.

Meanwhile Events and Venues will attend the Australasian Association Forum conference in Brisbane later this month, promoting Rotorua and the Energy Events Centre as a large-scale conference destination.

Mr Jeffery said originally they were the only New Zealanders to attend the annual trade show. However, this year a New Zealand contingent would go as a team.

He said about 300 associations would be represented at the event on July 25-26, with 25 per cent of those the Australasian associations they were targeting. It would be a chance to lay foundations and make key contacts.

"This [the trade show] is just the start of the process," he said. "We will see people maybe five to six times and then eventually we will get them to Rotorua."

He said attendance had proved worthwhile for the last three years, resulting in at least one major conference per year.

Mr Jeffery said the conference market was looking "pretty good" for Rotorua, with Events and Venues running 30-35 per year, averaging 500 guests each. While they only run 13 per cent of conferences in the city those account for 45 per cent of all delegates, he said.