The 2025 New Zealand Pipe Band Championships at the beginning of March and the New Zealand Marching Championships last week brought in about 2000 and 1300 people to the city respectively.
ILT CEO Chris Ramsay said the ILT’s accommodation was fully booked for both events.
"They were both superb. Our businesses were well frequented, as I’m sure all of the accommodation hospitality businesses in the city were.
"I think any time that you can attract national events, particularly ones of that kind of calibre, to the city, everyone wins — whether it be business owners or just residents that get to go and see and experience those events. It was a fantastically vibrant period for the town."
Mr Ramsay said big events and conferences were key to Invercargill’s businesses thriving through the cost-of-living crisis.
A report to the ILT board showed its profit performance for summer (November 2024-January 2025) was up 22% compared with the same time last year. In dollar terms it was up from $2.75m last year to $3.35m this year. Mr Ramsay said this was achieved primarily by an improvement in cost control.
"Our sales were slightly up on the same months in the year prior, so a very positive trend, but almost all of that growth was driven from out of town, whether that be tourism or event and conference activity, because there’s still a cost-of-living crisis in the country.
"So we know that the formula for success for our businesses is to keep driving and attracting large-scale conferencing and events and there’s a really good schedule of those for the year ahead, so 2025 looks fairly positive to be fair from that perspective."
Transport World general manager Courtney Russell agreed the events were a great refresh for them.
"It was amazing to see Invercargill buzzing with visitors for the New Zealand Pipe Band Championships and the Marching New Zealand Championships. It brought a fantastic boost to our products, especially The Grille and Toot Sweets.
"As Invercargill continues to grow as a destination, we’re hopeful this kind of energy becomes a regular feeling about town."
Mrs Russell said they would be looking forward to a similar buzz next month as she believed classic car show the George Begg Festival would also bring many visitors to the region.
"We’re excited to welcome people from across the country — and beyond — to experience everything our region has to offer while here for the three-day motorsport event."
