Rotorua - bubbling with opportunity

New Zealand’s natural assets play a large part in attracting international conferences - and never more so than in the bid for the 15th SGA Biennial Conference (Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits) in 2019. If the bid, led by Dr Tony Christie of GNS Science, is successful, around 600 international research geologists and geochemists, and minerals industry explorationists will converge on Rotorua for the four-day event.

Christie explains: “Most of the mineral deposit types we are looking at have formed from hot water. You are right in that environment in Rotorua, with its hot springs and geothermal areas. You’re in the modern analogue, you can see the hydrothermal processes in action. It’s a huge drawcard for our target audience. The Holy Grail for a lot of mineral geologists and explorationists is the Champagne Pool at Wai-o-tapu where gold is depositing from the hot water.”

The natural attractions are backed up by Rotorua’s excellent conference infrastructure, Christie notes, including a major venue, the Rotorua Energy Events Centre, and plenty of good, cost-effective accommodation options nearby. “Rotorua also has lots of great activities for partners and other accompanying persons - indigenous Maori culture experiences and tourist activities,” he adds.

Previous experience has also proved the city’s success in hosting events in this sector: “In 2013 we held the International Applied Geochemistry Symposium there, combined with the local annual NZ Geothermal Workshop. That event had more than 560 delegates and worked very well. Combining the SGA with another event to ensure a strong attendance is something we might look at, but it is early days yet.”

Putting local knowledge on the map

The case for international attendance is clear - but what are the local benefits? “These big international conferences are ideal opportunities. Many New Zealand researchers find it hard to get funding to attend these events overseas. Bringing it here opens it up to a wider group of New Zealanders working in this sector,” Christie says. “It’s a huge boost to local research groups - we are isolated here and don't normally get that international interaction, the exchange of new ideas and new technology, so easily unless we travel overseas. You get to talk to people in the flesh, whereas you would usually only read their papers in journals.” He adds: “I had a lot of support from my organisation, GNS Science, in making the bid. If we win this event, they will be able to participate and promote what they do, as well as benefitting from the professional development opportunities for our staff and being able to highlight our research and get it out into the world - it ticks a lot of boxes.”

The event also opens opportunities for inward investment and wider economic benefits, Christie adds: “New Zealand has a huge amount to offer in terms of natural assets and geological sites. Field trips associated with the conference will provide a window into New Zealand, raising its profile within the minerals exploration industry. We try to attract these people to come and spend their money here in exploration and set up their operations. New Zealand really benefits from that.”

Logistical and financial support

Taking on an international conference bid is not without its challenges. Local support has been imperative, Christie says. “Tourism New Zealand have been great. They are part of the reason we're doing this. After seeing the success of the 2013 event they were keen to see us go for another one. SGA was held in Townsville six years ago and it would be fantastic to get it back to the Southern Hemisphere in 2019. It's a pretty major conference.”

Christie undertook a two-stage bid process with Tourism New Zealand’s support - presenting to the SGA committee in August 2015 at their conference in France, then submitting a bid document in February.

“Tourism New Zealand’s Conference Assistance Programme (CAP) paid for my travel to France, and funded the printing and organisation of the bid document. They also gave us lots of resources: photographic images, information, and contacts for venues. It would be pretty difficult without them.”

And will the effort be worth it? Christie hopes to hear whether the bid for SGA 2019 was successful within the next month or two. “It is definitely worth doing. I find it quite an uplifting experience. Being a convenor is a lot of hard work and can be a bit stressful, but in the long run a successful conference provides a wide range of benefits. Now we just wait.”

This article was sourced directly from Tourism New Zealand