A planner's guide to conference and event venues in Queenstown and the Southern Lakes, from resort hotels to wineries and unique alpine spaces.
Queenstown is New Zealand's premier incentive and conference resort destination, and the surrounding Southern Lakes region (Arrowtown, Gibbston, Cromwell and Wānaka) adds wineries, lodges and dramatic outdoor settings within easy reach. MICE currently lists around 70 conference and event venues across Queenstown and the wider Southern Lakes, ranging from large resort hotels with ballrooms to intimate lodges and one-off experience venues.
Most Queenstown conferences are hosted in lakeside and resort hotels that combine accommodation, plenary space and catering. The largest by room count include Novotel Queenstown Lakeside (around 273 rooms), Copthorne Hotel & Resort Queenstown Lakefront, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown, Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa and Millennium Hotel Queenstown (both around 220 rooms), plus Crowne Plaza Queenstown, Rydges Lakeland Resort and The Rees Hotel. Millbrook Resort near Arrowtown is a long-standing choice for residential conferences and executive retreats. Compare room counts on the capacities tool.
For exhibitions and larger plenaries beyond hotel ballrooms, the Queenstown Memorial Centre and Queenstown Events Centre provide flat-floor and sports-hall configurations in the town.
Queenstown's real advantage is its wow-factor social programme. Gibbston Valley Winery, Lodge & Spa and Kinross Winery host dinners and functions in the Gibbston wine country; Skyline Queenstown puts a gondola-accessed venue above the town; the historic TSS Earnslaw steamship and Walter Peak Station stage lakefront experiences; and newer venues such as Ayrburn near Arrowtown suit stylish offsite events. Luxury lodges including Matakauri Lodge and Blanket Bay cater to small executive groups. Explore these under the venues directory and team building & activities.
Queenstown Airport handles direct domestic and trans-Tasman flights, so most delegates fly in. Arrange airport transfers, coaches and chauffeur cars through event & delegate transport. Because Queenstown is a high-demand destination, book venues and room blocks early, and consider a local PCO or DMC to coordinate accommodation, transport and the social programme across multiple sites.
MICE lists around 70 conference and event venues across Queenstown and the wider Southern Lakes region, including resort hotels, event centres, wineries and unique venues.
By room count the largest include Novotel Queenstown Lakeside (about 273 rooms), Copthorne Queenstown Lakefront, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown, Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa and Millennium Hotel Queenstown.
Popular options include Gibbston Valley and Kinross wineries, Skyline Queenstown, the TSS Earnslaw and Walter Peak Station, and Ayrburn near Arrowtown.
Queenstown Airport offers direct domestic and trans-Tasman flights, and most delegates arrive by air before transferring to their venue or hotel.
Yes. Queenstown is a high-demand destination for both business and leisure travel, so securing venues and hotel room blocks well in advance is strongly advised.
Competitive team building in Queenstown, from amazing races and karting to clay target and escape rooms, with real operators and group sizes for planners.
Māori cultural experiences, high-country stories and guided wilderness journeys for corporate groups in Queenstown, listed on MICE.
The MAG Scholar Conference in Business, Marketing & Tourism 2027 is an international academic conference convening 18–20 January 2027 at Speargrass, Queenstown, co-organised by MAGScholar and Emerald Publishing around the theme of sustainable value beyond digital transformation.
The 111th Lake Hayes A&P Show, run by the Lake County A&P Society, takes over the Lake Hayes Showgrounds between Queenstown and Arrowtown on Saturday 9 January 2027. A one-day summer agricultural and pastoral show combining livestock, equestrian, home-industries and trade-stand programmes, it routinely draws crowds approaching 5,000.
The Massey Sustainable Finance Conference 2026 is an academic conference on finance and sustainability, running 7–8 December 2026 at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort Queenstown Lakefront.
Queenstown's biggest conference-capable hotels, ranked by room count, for incentives and conferences needing a large lakeside room block.