A ‘can-do’ combination

Every five years, the Australian Institute of Radiography and the New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology come together for the NZIMRT-AIR Scientific Meeting. What’s the reasoning behind the joint event? “Open-mindedness,” says David Leach, Conference & Events Manager at the Australian Institute of Radiography. “There will be a regular group of people that attend the conferences every year and for them to network with different people who do similar work but with regional differences helps expand the delegates' thinking and conference experience. You find out the latest in teaching and training at local universities, new research, how new technology is being implemented and how this affects interdisciplinary teams. You also get to experience an array of speakers you haven’t seen before. I think it is exciting for people to go to an international meeting as well. You can learn so much from each other.”

The most recent event took place in Wellington in July 2015, but Leach’s journey began back at the MEETINGS trade show in Auckland 2013 as a fully hosted buyer. “We met a lot of good suppliers face-to-face, it was very personal. I then went to Wellington post-event to look at options. It was very successful.”

It was the start of a positive working relationship with Tourism New Zealand. “The support from Helen Bambry, Business Events Manager Australia, and the rest of the team in Australia and New Zealand was fantastic. They were very approachable and provided a tailor-made approach to make this event a success.”

Dollars and sense

Leach says that one of the keys to success was to maximise the number of delegates attending from Australia. “An online push was in our best interest. Tourism New Zealand supported the creation of a new website for the conference, one that emphasised the pre and post offering and had a greater destination focus. We also had a number of people over to present and get people interested in attending.”

Beyond funding support, Leach also benefitted from local knowledge about suppliers and off-site activities. “They pointed us in the right direction. We held our conference dinner at Te Papa, The Museum of New Zealand, which was excellent and added a cultural setting. Those choices help to attract delegates. We ended up with more than 750 attendees in Wellington, including more than 300 from Australia. That was a good result.”

Organisational assistance even included ensuring a solid business case for the event. “Tourism New Zealand organised some financial meetings in Australia outlining changes to GST and doing business internationally in terms of conferences. We needed to work out how that affected tax, rebates, currency and pricing. It was good to see Tourism New Zealand being proactive with that and it helped us put a better system in place to make the process easier,” Leach adds. “At the end of the day, those figures make a significant difference to your bottom line.”

Positively Wellington

Wellington had the combination of suitable venues, good access to international flights and a local pool of sector specialists to be a fitting host. “In an area like Wellington there is a significant pool working in medical imaging and radiation therapy, and we had a very enthusiastic local committee. Their local knowledge helped greatly to flavour the programme, along with their knowledge of funky little cafes for local breakfast meetings which added a real Wellington flavour,” Leach says. “Wellington is a very easy city to get around, the venues and accommodation are close and it is very walkable. We were blessed with very nice weather and it was wonderful, there was no need to bus delegates around. It made a huge difference to the whole experience.”

Pre-conference events included a mix of learning and leisure: a meeting at Victoria University provided the opportunity to learn from local academics; while a Lord of the Rings Tour with Flat Earth New Zealand Experiences was a very popular ice-breaker. Leach says: “Post-event, Tourism New Zealand gave us ready-to-go itineraries with good options that people could choose to undertake independently. They were a good teaser for people to take the time to explore.”

The overall feedback was overwhelmingly positive and Leach praises multi-purpose venue the TSB Bank Arena. “Positively Wellington Venues were really good to work with. It was really nice to have such a ‘can do’ attitude. TSB Arena was a basketball court when we arrived and we were amazed at how well it worked for us. We had the trade exhibition and plenary in the same area, separated with rigging, draping and temporary walls which worked really well. The exhibitors liked being so centrally located. As soon as we left, the venue became an ice rink. Hats off to them for their ability to turn it around so quickly!”

Leaving a legacy

Leach points out that the trans-Tasman relationships created are now thriving between the five-year events. “There is a research network, ANZMRRN, that was presented and promoted at the meeting and that has since gained further traction, which is great. Our Twitter journal club @medradjclub discusses research papers from our joint JMRS journal and that has been boosted since the joint event, too. I noted a number of New Zealanders coming to the Australian event this year, and I think that will happen a bit more, with Australians going to the next NZIMRT event, too. It is creating those new networks and building those relationships.”

For further information about Tourism New Zealand please visit www.businessevents.newzealand.com