The Games enabled New Zealand athletes to compete against the best in the world on their home turf, and raised the competitive bar in snow sports, Stanley said.
They were the ideal preparation for the Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck early next year, and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
"Events like Winter Games give our athletes the recognition they deserve," Stanley said.
"It's also about the promotion of winter sports as a competitive sport and the more we have this type of event, the more competitive winter sports enter the New Zealand psyche.
The number of young people competing in winter events was growing as a direct result of events like Winter Games, he said.
The addition of ski and snowboard slopestyle and the snowboard halfpipe to the Olympic programme had made the Winter Games even more important.
"It's a unique first to be able to offer these sports in the Winter Games since the Olympic announcement, and what better venue for them to take place in?"
Stanley said New Zealand was now seen as a world-class competition venue.
"There's a real opportunity to cement New Zealand as the preferred place for winter sports preparation and competition, which has got to be of huge economic benefit to New Zealand."
