19 October 2023

Recently Te Pae Christchurch hosted the 14th Annual TravelManagers Conference.  One of the conference’s key goals was to make this event Carbon Neutral.

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Michael Gazal, Executive General Manager from TravelManagers, working with local-host HOT-founder Chris Paulsen wanted to make sustainability a key focus, and choosing a sustainable destination and venue for their first annual conference in New Zealand was important.  

“Te Pae Christchurch helped us deliver on making this a green event with several sustainable operations, like no-waste-to-landfill coffee-carts, recyclable and reusable water stations, and no single-use plastics”.

TravelManagers also partnered with local The Christchurch Foundation to help meet their carbon-neutral goals.  They provided practical and hands-on solutions, and rather than buying carbon credits to offset emissions, they helped the conference find and choose a local tree planting activity that is encouraging the return of native tui birds to the central city.  Planting enough trees to cover travel emissions for all 370 delegates.

“Monetary wise it may have been a more expensive option however the value of bringing a group of our key partners together in a special part of Christchurch in the city’s red zone made the investment more than worthwhile.” said Michael Gazal

Fun and powerful, this experience was welcomed with excitement and pride by the attendees.  “The smile on people’s faces said it all!!  Although it was a physical exercise digging holes and planting trees, you could feel the energy and satisfaction of our participants with plenty of laughs in the mix!”

Alongside this sustainability exercise, delegates spent time around Christchurch, discovering and enjoying various activities within the city including zip lining, punting on the Avon, cultural walking tours, and cooking classes amongst others that showcased the diversity of the city offerings.