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You want your delegates to get away from it all? Queenstown’s the place. You want your delegates to be able to kick up their heels after a busy day of meetings? Think Queenstown. You want them to stay focused on the job at hand? Queenstown’s got that too.
Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring, meetings, incentives, special events, or a little bit of each, Queenstown really is New Zealand’s premier destination for corporate meetings. It has a vibe about it that simply beggars belief.
Whether it is the scenery, the people, the facilities, or a combination of all of these, the fact of the matter is that Queenstown is in a class of its own when it comes to exceeding expectations.
What was once a small, southern New Zealand outpost is now a thriving resort city that continues to retain its charm despite a plethora of new developments. Indeed, for those who may have been to Queenstown just 10 or even five years ago the similarities with then and now are vast. Despite this, there are clearly aspects that have not and will never change. The steam-driven TSS Earnslaw still chug chugs its way across Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak each evening, first-time tourists are strapped to bungy chords and jump off cliffs and bridges, and fire-engine red jet boats hurtle up the Shotover River carrying with them exhilarated thrillseekers.
Roads in the township which hug the lake are wider, and there are markedly more motor cars than there once were, but the essence of Queenstown remains. It’s a party place if that’s what you want it to be, and it’s a sleepy alpine village if that’s more your taste and style.
When the potential of Queenstown was realised some years back, hotels and resorts were quick to pick up on the scent of its potential. Those that came early have enviable positions in the heart of the township, with many undertaking refurbishment and enhancement programmes in an effort to keep up with some of the later arrivals.
The good news for the business events industry is that the Queenstown of today really does offer something for everybody – from swanky five-star chalet and resort-style accommodation to large hotels in the three and four-star bracket with plenty of conference space to boot.
In terms of tourism numbers visitation to 
Queenstown has continued its upward spike. Destination Queenstown reports a five per cent growth in total guest nights for the Queenstown Lakes/Central Otago region over the summer period. This includes a 12.8 percent growth in domestic guest nights, with international visitation growing by 0.6 percent.
“Given current market and tourism conditions, any signs of growth from the international marketplace is pleasing,” Mr Kennedy said.
While there is no evidence to support whether the convention and incentive market is on the rise, anecdotally at least there is plenty of talk around town, and certainly plenty of activity to capture more of the lucrative MICE dollar. Business tourism to Queenstown now generates an estimated $50 million annually and represents seven percent of the total visitor numbers to the resort town.
The Heritage Queenstown is the latest property to up the ante on the convention front, officially opening its Icon Conference Centre in May. This 200-seat venue has the most amazing views - and there are many in Queenstown. Perched high above Lake Wakatipu with views across to The Remarkables, this centre is sure to be a major winner for the group.
At the official opening of the centre it was not only great to see the Minister for Tourism in attendance but the local mayor who stressed the importance and value of the convention market to Queenstown.
The other big news in Queenstown is development of the one billion dollar Kawarau Falls Station. Spanning a seven hectare area and about 10 minutes from the city centre this project will have four resorts including a Westin and InterContinental.
In July last year InterContinental Hotels & Resorts announced it would be operating a 221-room resort at the site including a business centre, club lounge, fine-dining restaurant, an all-day dining cafe and bar, as well as a spa, gymnasium and a swimming pool. It follows an earlier announcement by Westin that it too would be operating a hotel in the precinct.
It is anticipated that these properties will deliver to Queenstown the largest convention space in town. All good news for a city with a purpose.
ABOVE: Alpine lake Queenstown region.
  Earlier this year Queenstown hosted the largest week-long festival involving 900-plus international delegates for members of the Golden Oldies Cricket organisation.
Geoff Clear from Moonlight Country Ltd was contracted to organise all three of the social events for the festival starting off on the Sunday night with the welcome function.
Moonlight Country erected a marquee down the main street of Arrowtown where the delegates were entertained by three bands, and ate from foodstalls with food provided by In2Food Catering and Mannmade Catering in a street festival-type scene. This event was to start off a week of fantastic weather and apparently a little bit of cricket.
Thursday saw the marquee from Arrowtown being placed out on the Moonlight Country Farm. This was to prove no easy task with the 15,000 square foot marquee one of the biggest to have been set up in Queenstown.
The day consisted of activities including jet-boating, 4WD motorbikes, helicopter joy flights, massages, claybird shooting and gumboot throwing. Delegates sat down to a platter-style lunch and were entertained by band Sufficiently Breathless, topping off a relaxing day for all participants.
Saturday and the Queenstown Events Centre was the venue for the finale which was to be the largest sit-down dinner Queenstown had hosted.
Carnival themed backdrops placed either side of the stage set a scene which was to become a night of tall stories from the week and plenty of dancing to the sounds of Austin Powers, Freddy Mercury, Suzanne Lynch, Ray Wolf and the Solid Gold Revival Band. Dinner was provided by In2Food Catering who were one of many local suppliers that worked with Moonlight Country to make this evening and all the social events across the week a huge success.
Once the dust cleared a very pleased Geoff Clear from Moonlight Country said the clients were extremely pleased with how the social events went and there were murmurs of it being one of the best Golden Oldies Cricket Festivals yet.
“This just goes to show that Queenstown can cater for a larger audience,” he said.
Moonlight Country get a wee break before doing this all over again when the Golden Oldies Netball group heads to Queenstown in November 2009.
Leisure concierge at the Crowne Plaza Queenstown, Nathan Wise, was accepted into the prestigious Hotel Concierge Society Les Clefs d’Or New Zealand by its President, Gustavo Concha.
Nathan was handed his Les Clefs d’Or (pronounced “Lay Clay Door”) or Golden Keys which take the form of crossed-key lapel pins. As the society’s trademark, the keys are designed to represent the opening of doors for a concierge’s clients.
A crowd of 40 gathered to help Nathan celebrate, including many Queenstown tourism operators, his close friends and senior hotel personnel.
Nathan is only the second Queenstown concierge to be bestowed this world-recognised accolade, and together with the South Island delegate for Les Clefs d’Or New Zealand, Bryan Wilkinson, they are the southernmost professional concierges in the world.
Nathan, originally from Sydney, has more than six years’ frontline hospitality experience, and has been a member of the Crowne Plaza Queenstown team for four years.
“This is an achievement I’ve worked towards for a number of years, so it’s incredibly rewarding to finally hold the keys in my hand,” Mr Wise said.
There are now 23 concierges in New Zealand who have met the strict criteria held by Union Internationale des Concierge d’Hotels Les Clefs d’Or, the world association of professional hotel concierges. The non-profit organisation aims to promote professionalism in the tourism industry and assist others in the spirit of friendship.
President Gustavo Concha said members are chosen for their experience, commitment to the industry, and are carefully selected for what they offer their guests and the society.
Accor’s largest conference hotel in Queenstown, the Mercure caters for up to 120 delegates theatre-style and offers 148 rooms, most of which have spectacular views over the lake and the Remarkables mountain range. The property’s attractive new lobby, restaurant and conference décor has transformed the hotel into a superb venue for meetings. Just three minutes from the centre of town, the Mercure Resort Queenstown has an outdoor swimming pool, spa, sauna, gymnasium, restaurant, bar, conference rooms and a ski and boot drying room. The property has two restaurants – Rises and Vista. Rises offers a hearty Alpine-style buffet breakfast with full continental English, American and Asian selections each day. Vista Restaurant is a la carte and has some of Central Otago’s best wines on its list. The lounge bar is a great space to relax after a long day of meetings. Visit www.mercure.com for further details.
Described as one of Queenstown’s most ideally located hotels, it is situated right opposite Lake Wakatipu and right in town. A $13 million makeover has increased guest rooms to 273, all of which are new or newly refurbished. All rooms feature an LCD TV, broadband internet and open air balcony or patio. Ski storage, spa pool, guest laundry, valet parking and internet stations are also available. Offering a contemporary and fresh feel, the Novotel Queenstown Lakeside has a brand-new top floor which is home to the Premium Room – a great space for corporate and conference guests. It also has a newly refurbished meeting room that can cater for 40 guests. Visit www.accorhotels.com.au.
The St Moritz Queenstown offers an authentic lodge-style hotel with alpine décor and a fantastic in-town location with dramatic lake and mountain views. Celebrating its 10th birthday this Autumn the property recently completed a substantial refurbishment which will cement the hotel within the upscale convention and incentive market. New additions include a designer gymnasium and a hot tub garden. The property has two private meeting rooms – The Den and The Library which offer floor-to-ceiling lake views. The Library boasts an impressive National Geographic collection along an entire wall, a stone fireplace, and lounge seating. The Den pushes the boundaries of the traditional function room with its memorable décor and innovative design. Catering for up to 80 people in a gala dinner setting, this room is an impressive private venue. Visit www.stmoritz.co.nz for further details
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The Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa is located in the heart of the city, just 15 minutes’ drive from the airport and 20 minutes from the ski fields. The hotel features 82 luxury rooms and suites all with a double spa for two, and most rooms offering private balconies with either mountain or lake views. All rooms are equipped with LCD television, CD and DVD player, espresso machine, wireless LAN and an additional LCD television in the bathroom. The luxurious spa – Le Spa – offers unique therapies including traditional Maori treatments and a Hammam steam room. The property also has a business lounge, library, conference area, bar and restaurant with a great menu to match. Visit www.accorhotels.com.au/sofitel-queenstown/ for further details.
The Millennium Hotel Queenstown can cater for groups of up to 600. In addition to the multi-purpose ballroom, which can be divided into three separate areas, the hotel also has five other meeting rooms catering for small- to medium-sized groups. The hotel’s 220 guest rooms were redesigned recently and now contain new features such as special bedside reading lights and high-speed broadband. The hotel also has a club bar and restaurant, both of which have been refurbished, plus an outdoor courtyard and grass area in the centre of the hotel. Visit www.millenniumhotels.co.nz for further details.
The Heritage Queenstown sits in an enviable position in Queenstown with stunning views of Lake Wakatipu and beyond to The Remarkables. With stunning accommodation rooms this property has just upped the ante in the conference sector after the official opening recently of its brand-new purpose-built Icon Conference Centre which can comfortably seat up to 200 delegates. Mackenzies Bar and Restaurant offers quality cuisine in a stunning setting, and there is an indoor-outdoor pool that is sure to keep busy delegates at the top of their game. (See page 71 for further details). For further details on this property, and also for details on the all-new Esplanade Residences Queenstown, managed by Heritage Hotels visit www.heritagehotels.co.nz.
There is plenty happening on the slopes in and around Queenstown. Coronet Peak is poised to take its place among the world’s premier mountain resorts following a $30 million investment programme. The base building is being redeveloped and will house a function room, a new cafe, bar and coffee service area, with a central kitchen area. A new deck will more than double the outdoor footprint while a new west wing will be home to a new restaurant with indoor/outdoor flow and stunning vistas. State-of-the-art snowmaking is also part of the redevelopment. At The Remarkables two new surface conveyor lifts are planned, and additional snowmaking is also being undertaken. Brand-new 4x4 coaches to the Remarkables will vastly improve travel to the ski area daily from Queenstown.
3 – I really can’t tell them I don’t want to do this now; I’d never live it down would I?
2 – Bloody hell, I’m going to have to jump as soon as he gets to 1 or else I’ll be dangling up here like a moron until –
1 – Oh God – here goes – what did he say? Dive out towards the other bridge and – just go, go, go before you change your mind, okay -
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
Oh Jesus, Christ, I’m alive; hanging upside down, blood rushing to my face, my pants have slipped down from my waste a fraction but the chord’s holding. Lord above, I’m alive. I hit the water just a touch because the sleeves of my jumper are wet. Oh my God, never, never again; I am never, ever doing this again. I’ve done it now and that’s it; I’ve survived.
And what the hell was that noise? I screamed, didn’t I? I bloody well screamed. Bet that impressed the boys and girls up top – a grown man screaming. God. That was so frightening. The ground – water – rushing towards me. The second I dived from that ridiculously small wooden platform I forgot all about having the chord tied around my legs. The water and I were about to bump REAL ugly.
Lights out. Say goodnight.
I screamed, although seriously it was less a scream and more of a yell with force. Forget parachuting, parapenting, the fastest, wildest roller coasters on the planet, abseiling, jet-boating, race cars. This tops the lot for fear factor overload.
Almost down now. Grab the pole and lower me into the boat.
Enjoy that? No. I’m scared of heights. Thought this might help. Stupid huh?
Legs free, the boat chugs over to the jetty. It’d be funny now if I hurt myself getting out wouldn’t it?
Funny stupid, not funny ha ha. Of course it doesn’t happen.
I power-walk my way to back to the top. Really power-walk! I’d better slow down or else I’ll have a heart attack. Wonder if that’s ever happened? Folks so full of adrenalin after their jump that they go mad with energy and over-exert themselves racing back up to the top? I doubt it.
Congratulations greet me when I reach the summit. Good jump. Well done. That was great. How do you feel? I’ve done it, I say. The first and last time. Never say never, someone says. And they’re right. I might need to do something else equally as foolish one day to remind me that I’m still okay with getting out of my comfort zone from time to time.
But not right now. I’d much prefer a lie down and a nice Chai Latte.
Brad Foster almost died courtesy of Destination Queenstown and AJ Hackett Queenstown. Seriously, he wants to thank them for the experience, and urges all those who may have thought about trying bungy jumping but have been too chicken to do so, to reconsider. He says he still has a fear of heights but a greater appreciation of the power of prayer.
Above: Kawarau Bridge Bungy, Kawarau Bridge, Gibbston Valley, Queenstown. Courtesy of AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand.
 
Finding something to do beyond the four walls of the conference room in Queenstown is easy; deciding what to do is the hard part. Following are a few top picks for busy conference delegates.
The Shotover Jet really is a must-do for first-time Queenstown visitors. The boats race up the Shotover River at what feels like alarming speeds, narrowly missing sheer rock walls on either side. The jetboats reportedly travel at 85kph along some stretches of the river. And, because of their design, they can skirt across less than a foot of water. Shotover has seven identical boats which can each carry up to 14 people giving them the ability to cater for large conference groups in a relatively short period of time. Visit www.shotover.co.nz for further details.
Nomad Safaris offers small, personalised tours into New Zealand’s back country in and around Queenstown. Tours can take participants to gold mining areas, locations that were used in the Lord of The Rings trilogy, or simply off-the-beaten track. Nomad Safaris has comfortable Land Rover vehicles and tour guides who really know their stuff, making each trip enjoyable, interesting and full of information. Visit www.nomadsafaris.co.nz for further details.
A good start to any wine tour in the Queenstown area is at Gibbston Valley Wines, just a 10 minute drive out of town. This boutique winemaker has won plenty of awards, and is specifically known for its pinot noir. Visitors can participate in wine tasting tours in the Gibbston Valley Wines underground man-made wine cave, or enjoy some of their finest over lunch at the winery restaurant. Visit www.gvwines.co.nz for further details.
The Skyline Luge is a fun-filled gravity ride for all ages and abilities perched high above Queenstown and accessible by the gondola. Users can choose from two tracks - scenic or advanced. The scenic track is a leisurely ride with a gentle gradient, easy bends, tunnels and dips while the advanced track has a steeper gradient and is a more adventurous ride with the thrill of banked corners, a tunnel, and three dippers and cuttings. Situated behind the Skyline complex, the luge tracks wind 800 metres down through the trees, with spectacular views of Queenstown & The Remarkables to finish beside the main complex. Visit www.skyline.co.nz for further details.
Skiers and boarders are spoilt for choice when it comes to skiing and snowboarding around Queenstown. Slopes just a short distance away include Cardrona, Coronet Peak, Treble Cone and The Remarkables, each of which offer a variety of slopes for skiers and boarders of all skill levels. Getting to the slopes is often half the fun in Queenstown, especially to The Remarkables. A drive up this road in a mini-bus or 4WD and you’ll be able to tackle any road in the world. There are plenty of Queenstown-based companies that offer skiing and boarding to some of the more pristine places in New Zealand, with access via helicopter. Visit www.queenstown-nz.co.nz for further details here.
If you’re feeling a little stiff and sore after your time on the slopes then you might just feel like a wee massage during your Queenstown stay, and there are plenty of options here too. Aspects Day Spa, Body Sanctum Day Spa, Hush Spa, Le Spa at Sofitel, Queenstown Therapeutic Massage, and The Spa at Millbrook are just a few available in Queenstown that should have you refreshed and reinvigorated in no time flat. Check with your hotel or resort for spa availability or visit www.queenstown-nz.co.nz for further details.
To really explore the surrounding area and enjoy a bit of adventure at the same time head out with Dart River Jet Safaris, which takes groups on a journey through the Te Waipounamu world heritage area. Dart River Safaris offers two options to experience – the Funyaks and the Dart River Safaris. After jetboating up the Dart River, the Funyaks experience sees groups blowing up their own inflatable canoes and setting off back down the glacier-feed watercourse amid rocky peaks and dense rainforests. It’s a great way to explore the Dart River’s hidden secrets. Visit www.dartriver.co.nz.
 
Skiers and boarders are spoilt for choice when it comes to skiing and snowboarding around Queenstown. Slopes just a short distance away include Cardrona, Coronet Peak, Treble Cone and The Remarkables, each of which offer a variety of slopes for skiers and boarders of all skill levels. Getting to the slopes is often half the fun in Queenstown, especially to The Remarkables. A drive up this road in a mini-bus or 4WD and you’ll be able to tackle any road in the world. There are plenty of Queenstown-based companies that offer skiing and boarding to some of the more pristine places in New Zealand, with access via helicopter. Visit www.queenstown-nz.co.nz for further details here.
If you’re feeling a little stiff and sore after your time on the slopes then you might just feel like a wee massage during your Queenstown stay, and there are plenty of options here too. Aspects Day Spa, Body Sanctum Day Spa, Hush Spa, Le Spa at Sofitel, Queenstown Therapeutic Massage, and The Spa at Millbrook are just a few available in Queenstown that should have you refreshed and reinvigorated in no time flat. Check with your hotel or resort for spa availability or visit www.queenstown-nz.co.nz for further details.
To really explore the surrounding area and enjoy a bit of adventure at the same time head out with Dart River Jet Safaris, which takes groups on a journey through the Te Waipounamu world heritage area. Dart River Safaris offers two options to experience – the Funyaks and the Dart River Safaris. After jetboating up the Dart River, the Funyaks experience sees groups blowing up their own
inflatable canoes and setting off back down the glacier-feed watercourse amid rocky peaks and dense rainforests. It’s a great way to explore the Dart River’s hidden secrets. Visit www.dartriver.co.nz.
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