Tourism Minister Louise Upston announced the move at Wellington's Tākina conference centre on Monday afternoon.
The funding would be split between direct payments to organisers, and increasing support through the Conference Assistance Programme run by Tourism New Zealand. The exact split would depend on the individual bids and what support was required.
She said it would allow Tourism NZ to increase the number of bids for annual conferences from 90 to 110, which was projected to deliver more than $30m in "incremental spend" to the economy.
"We know business event participants spend $175 more per day than other visitors on average, and importantly they often visit in the off-peak period between March and November," she said.
"To boost conference visitor numbers, it makes sense to supercharge the Conference Assistance Programme work that is already happening in Tourism New Zealand."
The funding would be available to any organisation wanting to host an international conference, including universities.
It comes out of the International Visitor and Tourism Levy paid by tourists on arrival into New Zealand. National opposed the levy when in opposition but in September the government announced it would be increasing the fee from $35 to $100.
In a media release, Upston said Tourism New Zealand's Conference Assistance Programme was also available to assist organisations bidding for conferences.
It could provide support with creating feasibility studies, producing bid documents and presentations, covering the cost of presenting the bid to International Committee including international travel and accommodation, and financial support to improve the chances of winning a bid.
