The past 12 months were the year of the bounce-back from the darkest Covid-19 days. WellingtonNZ continued to collaborate with organisations throughout the region to make Wellington wildly famous.
WellingtonNZ doubled down on its work to put the domestic market at the forefront of its mahi in events and marketing, to ensure local businesses benefitted from out of region spend.
Supporting local businesses to not just recover but to innovate and grow has been a major focus for the organisation.
WellingtonNZ worked alongside Māpuna Consultants to deepen our understanding of te reo, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and te ao Māori. This will allow us to work more effectively with the Maori sector and also recognises the constitutional significance of Te Tiriti.
More than ever, sustainability has been at the heart of WellingtonNZ as we focus on those issues that will future-proof the organisation as the city, region, country and world heads towards a sustainable future in a post-Covid world.
Business Unit Highlights
To recover from the impact of Covid on the economy in the first half of the year, and to develop business innovation and capability in the second half, we engaged with more than 2,400 businesses and provided access to more than $13 million of vouchers, funds, grants, and loans from central government. This work included:
Covid recovery support to more than 1,100 businesses
Fully-funded access to $4.6m worth of professional services for businesses affected by Covid
$5.3m of Research and Development (R&D) loans for businesses affected by Covid
Hands-on business innovation and capability support to more than 620 businesses, including 140 Māori-owned businesses
More than $430,000 co-funding to assist companies with training, coaching, and capability development
More than $2.7m R&D grants for businesses to invest in new technology development
Pop-Up Business Schools for 128 new businesses across the Hutt Valley, Porirua, and Kāpiti
Spotlight on: Hot Lime Labs
Hot Lime Labs have found a new way of sustainably extracting carbon dioxide (CO2) from waste wood to boost growth in commercial greenhouses.
It sees waste wood chipped and burnt to create gas. The gas travels to a carbon dioxide “sponge” made up of thousands of tiny recyclable limestone pellets. These patented pellets capture and separate CO2 from the flue gas; this clean CO2 is a key ingredient for plant growth. The CO2 is then released on demand into the greenhouse when air is blown through the pellets, increasing crop yields.
An additional benefit will see the heat generated during the process used to heat the greenhouse. The technology has the potential to reduce a growers carbon footprint and transition to renewable energy.
The first commercial trial of the technology was conducted at a commercial greenhouse facility near Taupo
WellingtonNZ helped Hot Lime Labs access R&D funding to overcome various design obstacles
“We really are pursuing our dream to decarbonise the industry”
Hot Lime Labs’ Chief Executive and founder Vlatko Materic
Fostering new talent for our regional workforce
Whether in times of high unemployment or of skills shortages, we work with employers, education institutions and students to align workforce needs with education opportunities, fostering career pathways to exciting careers.
More than 380 students or graduates assisted into internships, work experience or work integrated learning programmes, including 200 through the Summer of Tech programme.
Supported career programmes and events attended by more than 5,000 school students including 320 through the Young Enterprise Scheme
Delivered pathway programmes for 280 international students
WellingtonNZ continued to lead by example, hosting 14 interns and graduates during the year
Spotlight on: Internships - DataTorque
DataTorque was founded in 1994 to develop software that helps governments around the world collect taxes or revenue from individuals and businesses to fund public services and infrastructure. Today it has more than 140 staff.
This year they took a new approach to recruitment through their first internship programme which saw 14 interns hired. The new intake of interns, sourced mostly through the Summer of Tech, comprises eight developers, four test analysts and two business analysts.
The interns will be exposed to international tech systems, and a whole new world of the crucial importance of tax reform to nations based in Africa, Europe, the Pacific and the Caribbean.
“We have a lot of smart people who can benefit from the experience of sharing their knowledge and also offer valuable practical experience in a product environment to a group of interns.”
DataTorque Chief Operating Officer Raymond Marshall
Headquarters for business creativity and success
Creative HQ continued to accelerate innovation within start-ups, government and other enterprises, with a strong focus on assisting the Wellington region’s economic rebound post-Covid.
$2.2 million Investment raised by incubated businesses
$213,000 Investment raised by Lightning Lab Participants
64 Wellington based start-up businesses and early stage businesses on CHQ platform
118 Thrive Workshop participants to help small to medium businesses reimagine their post-Covid offerings
32 Businesses in accelerator programmes
21 Participants in Venture Up youth entrepreneur programme
Delivered more than $2 million in Innovation Services for large enterprise organisations, many located in Wellington.
For WellingtonNZ, ran three 3 ideation workshops with more than 80 participants from around the Wellington Region to create ideas for reimaging Wellington.
Won a significant programme of work to deliver design workshops with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in Wellington as a way of distributing their $60 million Innovation Fund
Towards carbon zero
Throughout the financial year WellingtonNZ’s Sustainability Team has identified key sustainability areas for the organisation. They include waste, recycle, reuse, asset and utilities management, travel and vehicles, partnerships/stakeholders, awareness and culture and procurement.
Work has started to flesh out these key areas with achievable and meaningful goals for the in the next five to 10 years.
The team has worked closely with Sky Stadium and other key stakeholders within the Wellington region on ways to manage and reduce the use of disposable cups. We expect to see significant progress on this during the current financial year.
WellingtonNZ has invested in EarthCheck, an accreditation that provides a global benchmarking system and certification program for sustainable travel and tourism.
WellingtonNZ will continue to engage and work with Sustainability Trust who have completed various reviews of the organisation to assist in keeping us on track.
No intermission for Screen Wellington
When the pandemic struck, New Zealand and Wellington found itself the centre of global attention as the screen sector looked to kick-start projects in arguably the safest country in the world.
Wellington played host to several high profile projects including Avatar and A24/Apple TV series Mr Cormon, filmed in Lower Hutt. Screen Wellington actively bid for the project and supported the production through permitting, facilitation and scouting activity.
Academy Award winning US studio A24 stayed on in Wellington to produce two US horror films. These projects had an estimated combined economic spend of between $25 million to $30 million, with a large percentage spent in Lower Hutt with Avalon Studios.
The region was also busy with NZ feature films Millie Lies Low, Going, Going as well as the usual stream of documentaries, TV commercials, music videos, corporate projects and Season 3 and 4 of Wellington Paranormal which has just been picked up by Netflix USA.
Screen Wellington assisted Hillfarrance Capital to establish a new private venture capital fund to fill the gap for private investment to develop and produce exportable NZ created content.
The new purpose built Upper Hutt screen facility Lane Street Studios is now taking bookings and offers physical studios spaces; vocational training and industry connectivity.
Wellington UNESCO City of Film
Being part of the global network of UNESCO Creative Cities means we can take the Wellington Screen culture to the world and bring the world to Wellington. This is achieved by using our screen creativity and technology to improve lives, increase diversity and inclusion in the screen sector.
UNESCO City of Film official designation and programme launch with Philippa Boyens and Wellington Mayor Andy Foster appointed ambassadors.
Formed a long-term partnership with Whānau Marama: New Zealand International Film Festival and presented the first ever Wellington UNESCO City of Film Award for Best Film to Money Honey.
Partnered with The Outlook for Someday to deliver a creative leadership programme for aspiring young filmmakers
Partnered with VAKA to create an extensive workshop, business boot-camp and mentoring programme for Māori and Pasifika screen creatives who want to be their own boss.
400 Film permits issued for filming across the region
150 Number of productions serviced
$67.2 million Value of permits
Spotlight on: Cousins
Directed by Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith, Cousins is a powerful film that could only have been made in Aotearoa.
Shot in Rotorua and Wellington, the film tells the story of three cousins and the impact on their lives, over five decades, when one of them is taken by the State.
The film was produced by an all-female, Māori team and features nine Māori actresses playing three cousins across three stages of their lives.
WellingtonNZ assisted with film permits to allow shooting to happen in the Wellington region.
“Wellington is such a wonderful place to shoot, to be able to take advantage of the world class crews and cast and the vast range of locations that allowed us to capture five decades.”
Cousins Director Ainsley Gardiner
Tourism operators get targeted assistance
Wellington city and region remains an attractive place for people to visit but closed borders, changes in alert levels and issues with the trans-Tasman bubble have created unprecedented challenges for tourism operators.
Polishing Wellington’s tourism crown
WellingtonNZ’s Destination Management Plan, marketing, product development and capability building was assisted through the Government’s Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme.
There has been a focus on supporting local businesses, upskilling operators and working with domestic tourism sellers. Some tourism businesses remain in hibernation, unable to profitably operate their businesses without higher yielding international visitors and visitor numbers provided by the cruise industry.
Teaching the world about Wellington
WellingtonNZ continues to assist Tourism New Zealand’s ‘keeping the brand alive’ engagement with travel sellers, particularly with training.
600 Travel agents trained
A new livestreaming video initiative created a real time connection. It led to WellingtonNZ having more than 4000 viewers in Singapore, Indonesia and Chinese livestreams showcasing the city and attractions.
Hannah’s Laneway was the featured location for Tourism New Zealand’s Wellington livestream to China in September. During the two-and-a-half-hour online event, 51,000 viewers tuned in and it had 345,000 engagements.
Sustainable tourism
The Wellington Tourism Sustainability programme established to encourage small to medium operators to move towards WCC’s desire to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
CreativeHQ led a design sprint with tourism operators in June 2020. From this process an RFP was distributed to appoint a provider to assist operators on an individualised plan to sustainability and the pilot programme commenced in July 2021.
Getting down to business
Due to Covid-19 and the border situation, the focus of Business Events Wellington shifted to targeting the New Zealand market. This proved to be very successful and is reflected in Wellington securing the hosting of the largest percentage of business events across the country according to the results of the Business Events Data Programme.
36 Bids won by Business Events Wellington
$14.6 million Total value of business events secured for Wellington
Top 5 business bids won
International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works 2022 for 450 delegates
NZ Dental Association 2020 for 600 delegates
NZ General Practice 2021 for 600 delegates
Infrastructure NZ 2020 for 900 delegates
Global Women 2021 Conference for 250 delegates
Tākina taking shape
Tākina – Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre is on track to open in mid-2023.
WellingtonNZ has worked together on the development of Tākina with Wellington City Council and other city partners to build towards its future success.
Business Events Wellington appointed a dedicated Business Development Manager in Sydney to help promote Wellington and Tākina to the Australian market.
Wellington as a destination
Initially created in response to New Zealand’s first Covid lockdown, WellingtonNZ’s Love Local campaign has supported retail, hospitality and tourism businesses through a variety of programmes aimed at reassuring, restimulating and reactivating the regional economy.
This included an always-on marketing campaing featuring local businesses across outdoor and digital channels, the Love Local Christmas with Pop-Up Shop and making the city more vibrant via the Love Local City Artwork that adorns construction hoardings and shop windows across the CBD.
Wild Weekends
Wild Weekends is our micro travel show comprised of 31 episodes that were aired via TV, online viewing, social media and cinema.
Research shows it has the second highest prompted awareness of a tourism campaign, after Tourism NZ’s Do Something New, New Zealand, with 57% of people taking action as a result of the campaign.
Wellington Advent Calendar
The Wellington Advent Calendar provided an important boost retail and hospitality businesses over the quieter summer period. It took on added importance this year with businesses looking to rebound from the impacts of Covid lockdowns.
The calendar featured 24 offers from the likes of Wellington Zoo, Lighthouse Cinema and the Occasional Brewer.
123,787 Downloaded vouchers
$205,581 Direct spend from the vouchers
Focus on: Welcome Whānau – the opening of the trans-Tasman bubble
Welcome Whanau was a collaboraration between WellingtonNZ, Tourism New Zealand, Māori Tourism, Air NZ and Wellington International Airport on 19 April.
A giant Welcome Whānau sign was painted on the grass at the nothern end of the runway to greet the first quarantine-free aircraft arriving from Australia.
Inside the terminal, arriving passengers and friends and family waiting to greet them, were greeted by the Ngāti Pōneke Young Māori Club and scores of media.
We partnered with Australian-based Seven Communications to spread the message that Wellington was open for business… and fun. The results were outstanding.
86 Australian media results
142 million Total Australia audience
$6 million Value of Australia media coverage
Broadcasting Wellington’s news
Wellington stories are rich and vibrant and even with the challenges of operating in a Covid world, WellingtonNZ got them told by journalists, videographers and broadcast specialists, and via our own channels.
18 marketing campaigns
2,341,555 Unique Sessions on WellingtonNZ.com and other sites, up 41% on last year
710,668 Followers across our social media channels and digital newsletters, up 5.19% on last year
9% Increase of social media followers
1,474 Media stories across international and domestic markets
$50.6 million Value of the media coverage
29 Journalists hosted in Wellington
Events at the heart of Wellington
Live performance is particularly vulnerable to the whims of Covid and the associated lockdowns. This created plenty of challenges to overcome and WellingtonNZ led the country in responding thanks to Digital Nights- Van Gogh Alive.
We invested in existing and new major events, such as Digital Nights - Van Gogh Alive and the one-day Downtown Shakedown music festival.
WOW - exhibition style
WellingtonNZ partnered with Te Papa for the new World of WearableArt – Up Close (ao KakahuToi – Kia Tata) exhibition. Over summer, 37,808 visitors got an intimate experience with 38 stunning garments in an immersive environment of light and colour.
SIX60 reach for the rangi
About 32,000 fans attended the SIX60 gig at Sky Stadium in February. WellingtonNZ partnered with the stadium. This partnership included the creation of dual English/ Te Reo Maori stadium announcements.
CubaDupa totally super
After the disappointment of cancelled CubaDupa festivals in 2019 (following the Christchurch terror attack) and 2020 (lockdown restrictions), CubaDupa was back in full panorama colour, enjoyed by an estimated 200,000 people.
$54.4 million Economic impact from major events
$XX Invested in Major Events
356,707 Total Major Events audience
Focus on: Digital Nights – Van Gogh Alive
Digital Nights Wellington – Van Gogh Alive was a collaboration between Melbourne’s Grande Exhibitions, WellingtonNZ and Tawhiri.
It brought a stunning display of Vincent Van Gogh's masterpieces displayed in full digital splendour under Wellington's starry waterfront night sky
It was the only major event in the country when launched in August 2020
41,000 Art lovers attended the exhibition, boosting local businesses
WellingtonNZ-managed venues go Kiwi gangbusters
Despite the St James Theatre and Wellington Town Hall being closed for upgrades and the uncertainty of securing and hosting performance event during the pandemic, the venues managed by WellingtonNZ performed better than anticipated during the financial year. It has been a year when, thanks to strict international border controls, local Kiwi talent has blossomed.
Performance Events
133 Number of performance events in our venues providing 513 performances
302,363 Total Audience
57,599 Total out-of-region audience
Scores of sold out performances including:
Alison Wonderland & Quix, An Evening with Marlon Williams, Avantdale Bowling Club, Bill Bailey, Crowded House, Dr Seuss’s Cat in the Hat, Warehouse Rave 01, 02 and 03, various performances by the NZSO and Orchestra Wellington.
Click here for Financial Statements and Statement of Service Performance
