Around The World

There's an almost limitless choice of destinations for conferences and conventions.
If you don't fancy staying at home you can head offshore.

In New Zealand, the Wellington Convention Centre is divided between two venues. The Wellington Town Hall is a beautifully restored heritage building, dating from 1904, while the Michael Fowler Centre is more modern. For large groups, the Michael Fowler Centre Auditorium holds 2,430 people theatre style, while the Town Hall Auditorium holds 2,000 people theatre style.

There are 19 meeting and event spaces within the two buildings, which are located next to each other and linked by a pedestrian bridge. The Wellington Convention Centre also manages what was previously known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre. The centre has the city’s largest dining area, seating up to 1,500 for dinner and 3,700 for cocktail parties. For exhibitions, the Events Centre Wellington has 2,186 square metres of pillar-free space.

Further expansion of SKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre is well underway. Costing an estimated $NZ150 million, construction of a new convention centre and hotel is the largest capital project under construction in Auckland city. Concurrent to this development, SKYCITY Auckland has begun a transformation of its casino facilities to include a second gaming and entertainment level.

New Conference Options

SKYCITY Auckland’s new convention centre will provide capacity for up to 1,500 delegates. It incorporates 5,000 square metres on two levels dedicated to conferences, exhibitions and banquets including a 1,300 square metre banquet room.

The 5 star hotel will be 15 levels high and contain 320 rooms. SKYCITY Auckland’s existing conference centre has been closed to make way for construction of the new casino and bar facilities. The new convention centre opens in early 2004.

The Sheraton Perdana Resort on the Island of Langkawi, Malaysia, now has a resort-within-a-resort with Jentayu Villa. Set along the pristine coast of Langkawi Island, Jentayu Villa, a beautiful fusion of traditional Malay architecture and striking contemporary design, has five spacious bedrooms and every modern convenience including its own completely private swimming pool. As a guest of Jentayu Villa, one also has full access to all the facilities of the Sheraton Perdana Resort, just a few
minutes away from the villa.

Dubai in the United Arab Emirates is already well known as one of the world’s great tourist destinations. Its reputation for hosting conferences and meetings is also beyond reproach. There’s any number of spectacular hotels in Dubai but the Jumeirah Beach Hotel deserves a special mention.

Something Exciting

Its external shape echoing the form of a huge breaking wave, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel is more than 300 metres in length and 100 metres in height. The hotel rises dramatically from golden sands and lush, landscaped gardens, setting new standards in hotel design.

The Conference and Banqueting Centre has been designed in the shape of a traditional dhow – an arabic wooden boat. The main ballroom measures 1,326 square metres while, on the first floor, is a purpose-built auditorium/theatre.

As spectacular as the Jumeirah Beach Hotel undoubtedly is, front-runner for the most boldly futuristic hotel would have to be the nearby Burj Al Arab. This unique sail-shaped building stands proudly on a man-made island some 280 metres offshore, linked to the mainland by a slender, gently curving causeway.

The all-suite Burj Al Arab has 202 duplex suites and delivers the true definition of luxury with brigades of butlers to serve guests, private reception desks on every floor and in-suite check-in. All suites features floor-to-ceiling windows and range in size from 170 square metres to 780 square metres in floor area.