Events Manager, Adam Reinsfield, sent us this update on what's been happening down there.

Life at TW Events & Incentives, the events industry arm of southern tourism hub Transport World, is a little bit different now. We are determined to persevere and see out these challenging times.

In the meantime, we are focusing on refining our industry presence. Our new website www.twevents.nz was recently redeveloped and we are continuing to review and strengthen that, so that potential customers have an understanding of our capabilities and expertise. The TW Events & Incentives team has also been refining our processes and operating guidelines, as well as attending online forums and meetings to solidify our own knowledge. Usually, attending many of these is a challenge for us because of our geographical location, so we have been taking advantage of the increased digital focus.

Our bookings have dried up until June, but from that point onwards things look more promising and we have taken a number of bookings for late 2020. However, like everybody else in the industry, we are essentially in limbo until changes are made to New Zealand’s COVID-19 level and the rules around social gatherings are eased.

Unfortunately, being part of a wider tourism organisation has meant TW Events & Incentives is not immune to some of the more difficult decision-making happening around the world. Tourism in particular has been hard-hit by COVID-19 and it is expected that the industry will be compromised for many months, if not years. Unfortunately as part of the wider Transport World restructure in response to these challenging times, one of our venue liaison roles has been disestablished. This has been incredibly difficult for our staff but we have been heartened by the professionalism the wider Transport World team has shown in the face of adversity. We’re down, but we’re not out, and we hope to be in a much stronger position as soon as possible.