Scientific research puts New Zealand on top

Director of Gateway Antarctica at the University of Canterbury and SCAR Vice President Professor Bryan Storey successfully bid to host the biennial SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) Open Science Conference in New Zealand. He relates the support he received from Tourism New Zealand’s Business Events Team, from bid to best-ever result.

 

Why New Zealand?

Professor Storey tapped into the ground-breaking research being done in this field in New Zealand, highlighting the knowledge transfer possible by bringing thought leaders to the country for the conference. “Science is a key sector for New Zealand. New Zealand is a world leader in Antarctic science which is why it is perfect for SCAR. New Zealand is a great place to do Antarctic research as the people understand the effects of the warming world.”

 

Challenges and solutions

“Initially I was concerned about the cost and distances involved for overseas visitors coming to New Zealand. However, working with Tourism New Zealand they helped with all of these concerns and supported me through the whole process of bidding for the international conference,” Professor Storey says. “Tourism New Zealand assured me that delegates always like coming to New Zealand because it is a safe destination, it is accessible, a beautiful country and it has the reputation for welcoming people. They were correct; our delegate numbers exceeded expectations and the conference was voted the best ever.” In all, 950 delegates from 39 countries attended the XXXIII SCAR Biennial meetings and the 2014 Open Science Conference, the largest gathering of Antarctic researchers ever in New Zealand.

 

Brilliant bid support

Tourism New Zealand’s Business Events team offers outstanding support to associations that want to bid to host an international conference in New Zealand. Its Conference Assistance Programme (for events of more than 200 international delegates) can help with travel costs to support the bid, bidding documents, financial feasibility studies and marketing strategies to attract delegates. Its toolkit of support ranges from footage to factsheets and pre- and post- event itineraries.

Professor Storey says: “Our organising committee worked together with Tourism New Zealand, the local Convention Bureau, our PCO and the venue to put together a bid that showed we are unique in our team approach. The New Zealand government provided letters of endorsement and through the Conference Assistance Programme we accessed funding for a promotional booth and travel support to ensure we had all the expertise on ­hand in Buenos Aires when we presented our bid at the 2010 biennial meetings.”

 

More profile for the membership

“There is no doubt that hosting the conference in New Zealand raised the profile of Antarctic research in New Zealand by reaching out to many thousands of people through television and media releases,” Professor Stoprey says.  “It also helped raise the profile of New Zealand research internationally by attracting delegates from many different nations. It is hard to say if hosting the conference in New Zealand actually increased the number of SCAR members. New countries are joining all the time and there is no doubt that holding conferences helps in that regard.”

 

Benefits beyond the conference

The event took place during a busy series of scientific conferences in New Zealand, with

SCAR sharing part of the Open Science Conference with COMNAP (the Council of Managers of the National Antarctic Programs), as well as hosting joint cocktail events with delegates from the 31st General Assembly of the International Council of Science (ICSU). The event organisers leveraged off each other, culminating in a science programme which brought the work of the associations to the attention of the wider community in public outreach events World Science Week and NZ ICEFEST. “World Science Week capitalised on both SCAR and ICSU events happening in the city, leading to some very successful public lectures,” Professor Storey says.

 

First-class infrastructure

New Zealand’s welcoming reputation and excellent conference and hospitality infrastructure ensured a seamless event. Professor Storey said: “Auckland has first-class conference facilities that have the ability to cater for all different requirements and conference sizes. A great range of hotels are all within walking distance and it is a safe and friendly environment. Excellent restaurants and evening venues are only a stone’s throw away too. The proximity of everything was great and it made doing business here easy.”

 

The final word from delegates

“Beautiful city, excellent facilities, friendly people. It was a very successful conference.”

 

If you or your association could benefit from the Conference Assistance Programme, please contact Tourism New Zealand’s Business Events team on businessevents@tnz.govt.nz, or head to www.businessevents.newzealand.com