Queenstown is showcasing the best it has to offer in education this week, during the Australia New Zealand Agent Workshop (Anza) - Australia and New Zealand's largest education and youth tourism trade show.
Last year it was confirmed the resort would host the workshop at the Queenstown Events Centre, which is a strategic win for Queenstown, representing a "coming of age" as an edu-tourism destination.
About 600 participants from 30 countries are attending Anza from today until Friday as New Zealand and Australian sellers of education, work and youth travel meet one-to-one with screened, high-quality buyers who, collectively, send tens of thousands of students and travellers to the region.
The format is similar to that of Trenz, facilitating appointments between agencies that send students and edu-travellers to the region and those who provide educational and tourism services at the destination.
Attendees are also offered professional development seminars and family-tour opportunities to showcase their programmes, schools, countries and regions.
Destination Queenstown convention bureau manager Kylie Brittain said education was a major export earner for New Zealand and Australia and Queenstown was now recognised as a "credible international education destination" with many options as a place for students to live and learn.
"Hosting Anza gives us the opportunity to display our offering to this market niche.
"It's an international platform that can promote the resort as a superb study destination."
Queenstown's "live and learn" opportunities had been profiled and organised through Study Queenstown, a specialist organisation that brought together Queenstown's education institutions to provide a one-stop-shop for people considering study in the region. Study Queenstown spokesman Charlie Phillips said the workshop would help reinforce the resort as a serious study destination, which includes Queenstown Resort College, Otago Polytechnic, Southern Institute of Technology, English language schools and, most recently, the University of Otago.
Mr Philips believed hosting the Anza workshops offered an opportunity for Queenstown to forge new relationships with international agencies and showcase the synergies between education and tourism.
Included in the workshop would be functions hosted by Education New Zealand, including one at the Skyline and a trip to the Kawarau Bungy Centre.
The 2011 Anza workshop was held on the Gold Coast and welcomed 487 participants representing 334 organisations from 40 countries, with 5002 meetings taking place.
