$221m and counting: Te Pae’s success lifts economy

Wednesday, 27 August 2025

Te Pae is outperforming its original forecasts, with the events centre delivering $221 million in economic impact since opening, about $10m more per year than expected.

Of that, $180m has gone into the Canterbury economy since May 2022, with the rest spread around New Zealand.

The latest figures provided by Te Pae also show the centre will generate a direct economic impact of $43.8m in the next four months alone, with more than 32,000 delegates expected to attend over 80 events between August and November. That’s about $5m more than the same time last year.

“This building was designed to drive economic activity when the city needed it most,” said Te Pae general manager Ross Steele. “And you can really see after three years that that’s actually happening.”

“We’ve got new hotels opening around us. I think we’ll see more infrastructure. If we keep bringing people to the city in the months when we need them most, then we’re doing what this place was built for.”

While the city’s leisure tourism peaks in summer, Steele said Te Pae had effectively claimed the cooler months as its domain.

“Consistently, about 85% of our business is held between May and November. If you were to talk to some of the hotels around us, they’d say it’s been quite significant for them in that period.”

The $43.8 million projection reflects delegate and visitor spending during Te Pae’s busiest stretch of the year. While it signals a strong run of events, that figure is not representative of quieter months, particularly during the summer when conference activity slows.

Steele attributed the success to targeted scheduling, international appeal, and deep community ties.

“Seventy-five per cent of our international delegates fly direct into our airport, which supports our aviation connections. And 26%, particularly in the medical field, fly premium economy or higher — that helps airlines justify those high-yield seats.”

Christchurch Airport has also felt the benefits of Te Pae's success, particularly during the quieter winter months.

Spokesman Sean Tully said the airport had seen 'substantial growth in low season traffic' since Te Pae opened, equivalent to an extra three Boeing 737 flights each week.

He emphasised the partnership between the airport and Te Pae in winning bids. 'Te Pae is doing well, and the airport is benefiting from that success, but we've also worked hard to secure the air connectivity that enables Te Pae to attract conferences.'

The surge in activity is particularly visible in the accommodation sector. City hotel occupancy rates, which typically dip during winter, are being buoyed by strong conference traffic. In June 2025, occupancy across all Canterbury accommodation types was 42.5% - up from 38.1% in June 2022, according to the Accommodation Data Programme.

The latest $43.8m projection comes from Te Pae itself, however a report from Infometrics released earlier this year gives more detail.

In the year to November 2024, Te Pae contributed $63m to Canterbury’s GDP. That figure includes $37.8m from visitor spending during conferences, along with a portion of $25.2m in staff wages and payments to suppliers. Nationally, the total economic impact rises to $77m.

It shows convention visitors from outside the region spent an average of $496 per day during their stay in Canterbury.

Infometrics found that Te Pae has delivered a significantly stronger economic contribution to Canterbury than expected, driven by both higher-than-forecast attendance and greater spend per delegate.

In 2024, 25,065 people attended conventions at Te Pae, surpassing both the pre-Covid forecast of 19,450 and the post-Covid forecast of 20,800. Attendance at other events, which are typically more local or national in focus, was slightly below expectations at 55,090.

Despite this, the stronger performance of convention-related events, which attract more out-of-town and international visitors, means the overall economic impact remains ahead of target.

However, competition between cities is heating up. “We’ve got 21 active bids at the moment, which we’re jointly doing with ChristchurchNZ and Tourism New Zealand,” said Steele.

“Our biggest competition is Wellington and Auckland. Everyone wants this business.”

That domestic rivalry could intensify further with the delayed New Zealand International Convention Centre in Auckland expected to come online in the next year.

ChristchurchNZ, the city’s economic development agency, is a key player in that bidding process.

Head of visitor economy Kath Low said it manages a fund that helps offset costs for conference organisers, with criteria prioritising events that deliver strong economic and social returns — particularly those scheduled outside peak summer.

The agency bid for 66 business events and secured nearly half.

She said Christchurch’s edge lies in its compact, walkable city centre and ease of access. “There are few cities which offer the conference venue, dining options, accommodation, theatres and soon-to-be-open stadium all within walking distance,” Low said.

Steele is confident in Te Pae’s edge. “I’ve worked in a number of these buildings, and this is probably the best, from the fitout to the cultural connection to our sustainability credentials.”

This week alone, the centre is hosting the Seed Business event (300 attendees), Business Canterbury’s Prime Minister’s Lunch (430), and Queenstown Research Week (650). Next week, the Canterbury Tech Summit will bring in another 700 delegates, and pop star Rob Thomas will perform a concert at the venue in November.

Business Canterbury chief executive Leeann Watson says Te Pae has been a 'game changer' for central Christchurch businesses, particularly those that had invested in the city centre during the post-quake rebuild.

Watson says Te Pae has also been instrumental in helping Christchurch smooth out the seasonal ebb in economic activity.

“It does extend that shoulder season,” she said. “People are in the city 12 months of the year, instead of just three or four months in the summer.”

While the hospitality sector has seen the most obvious lift, Watson says the benefits are more broadly felt.

“The accommodation sector, the retailers, transport companies, even tourism operators like punting on the Avon, all benefit when international delegates stay on after conferences,” she said.