Trustpower Baypark had a "positive business pipeline" for 2022, with bookings for some major events through to 2025.
McSweeney said the element of uncertainty for those organising large events was slowly dissipating.
Tauranga had limited accommodation facilities compared to other destinations, but it offered quality venues and a beachside ambience that was unique and hard to replicate, he said.
Chief executive of Tourism Bay of Plenty Oscar Nathan. Photo / NZME
Chief executive of Tāpoi Te Moananui ā Toi Tourism Bay of Plenty Oscar Nathan said the city had become a popular destination for conferences since lockdown.
"Enquiry for conferences in the region is high, with some venues fully booked until November," he said.
"We have benefited from the larger cities having MIQ facilities because organisations have moved their conferences to Tauranga as we have capacity to hold them."
Tourism Bay of Plenty put resources into the conference space to market the destination as a business event destination in June 2020.
Nathan said conferences provided business to tourism operators, accommodation, hospitality and retail during the mid-week, off-peak season.
Tauranga's Hotel Armitage and Conference Centre spent more than $200,000 on renovating its facilities in preparation for hosting an increase of events post-Covid.
Prime Hotels group general manager Nicolas Caffardo said the six-month project, which was completed in May, saw the conference facilities, guest rooms, pool, and restaurant upgraded.
Hotel Armitage's newly renovated conference rooms had been receiving "a lot of interest" since the upgrades.
"The conference rooms have been well-received," he said.
Caffardo believed Armitage's conference rooms were the most up-to-date in the city.
"We need them, that is for sure," he said.
Prime Hotels group general manager Nicolas Caffardo. Photo / NZME
However, he said the conference market was changing weekly.
The hotel's conferences facilities were used regularly during the week and occasionally on the weekend, he said.
"It is not yet consistent where it is every day of the week - but we are going to keep working on promoting them," he said.
"We are not out of the woods yet, but it is certainly encouraging after the 15 months we have been through."
A Tauranga catering company and function centre said business had "gone crazy" since lockdown last year, with co-owner Darren Rolls having to turn away some requests.
"We have never had it this good. I have been turning away just as much as I have been booking because I just can't fit it in," he said.
Daniels in the Park was booking about 50 functions a month for its facilities and out-catering. The Memorial Park venue could hold more than 100 people.
Rolls said they had bookings up until about March next year.
"We are pretty booked up all the way till March next year. There is probably half a dozen Saturdays that aren't booked and that would be about it. It is just crazy."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said the city had lots of options for regional conferences, but it was generally overlooked at a national level.
Cowley said many of the local venues were not close enough to accommodation.
"The additional transport adds an extra layer of time and cost to multi-day conferences compared to other cities," he said.
Cowley believed a well-designed facility targeting the national conference market would bring additional visitors into the region.
"Many national-level conferences are bored with the same selection of cities and they are looking for something different that Tauranga can provide.
"It will also complement Tauranga's growing reputation for holding nationally significant events."
Rotorua's Event Impressions director Jacqui Alexander said there were very few industries affected by the lockdowns in such a dramatic way as the business events industry.
"It is amazing to see the heartbeat of business events once again warming up our Rotorua venues and of course, for us, that means we too rejoin the working world.
"This year has seen incredible growth for our business with an almost standing start and we have moments of pinching ourselves as we see our efforts in 2020 rewarded with our clients returning, new business inquiries and work from here to Auckland keeping us on our toes."
Alexander said they had relished returning to work with their colleagues in the hotels and event centres.
"There is still a way to go statistically to be back to pre-Covid19 demand, but the signs are all excellent. When the vaccinations kick in we are looking at a really positive future."
