Kohinga Koha 2026 - Te Arikinui Māori Economic Summit runs 20-22 October 2026 at Mercury Baypark in Mount Maunganui, convened by the three Tauranga Moana iwi to advance Māori-led economic development. It carries the theme "One Journey, One Economy, One Future, One Movement" and builds on Te Arikinui's national economic movement launched in 2025.
Kohinga Koha 2026 is a Māori economic summit set for 20-22 October 2026 at Mercury Baypark in Mount Maunganui, in the wider Tauranga Moana rohe. The official event site (kohingakoha.nz) and the Humanitix registration listing both confirm the dates, the Mercury Baypark venue at 81 Truman Lane, and a theme of "One Journey, One Economy, One Future, One Movement." It is presented as a Māori-led economic activation platform "rooted in whakapapa, driving opportunity and collective prosperity."
The summit is hosted under the Kohinga Koha banner and led by the three iwi of Tauranga Moana — Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāti Pūkenga — according to the event's own website and Humanitix listing. Kohinga Koha itself emerged as the Māori business expo strand of Te Arikinui Kuīni Ngā wai hono i te pō's national economic movement; 1News reported the Māori Queen launched that movement (including the inaugural Ōhanga ki te Ao summit and the Kohinga Koha expo, with its Dragons'-Den-style "Taniwha Den" pitch platform) in Hamilton in November 2025. The 2026 Tauranga edition is the iwi-hosted continuation of that kaupapa.
The stated audience is iwi leaders, business investors, government representatives and Indigenous partners. The published framing organises the summit around strengthening Māori economic development through Whenua (land), Moana (sea) and Rangi (sky). Based on the 2025 predecessor, the programme concept pairs a leadership/investment conference with a Māori business expo and enterprise pitching. A session-by-session agenda and speaker line-up were not published on the official or ticketing pages at the time of research.
Mercury Baypark (formerly ASB Baypark) is a stadium, arena and events complex at 81 Truman Lane, Mount Maunganui, on the Tauranga side of the Bay of Plenty. As neutral context: it sits roughly 10-15 minutes' drive from central Tauranga and is served by Tauranga Airport nearby, with Mount Maunganui and Papāmoa accommodation clusters within a short drive, making it a common choice for larger Bay of Plenty conferences and expos that need arena-scale floor space alongside breakout areas.
A multi-day, iwi-hosted economic summit tied to a nationally profiled Māori economic movement anchors a significant business-events booking in the Bay of Plenty rather than the main-centre convention hubs. It draws iwi, corporate, government and international Indigenous delegates into Tauranga Moana, supporting the region's positioning for kaupapa Māori conferences and the wider Māori-economy events segment.
Cited links supporting this report.
The Acoustical Society of New Zealand holds its 2026 biennial conference, Acoustics 2026, at Trinity Wharf in Tauranga from 2 to 4 November 2026 — the first time the event has been hosted outside a main centre. Under the theme '… And now for something completely different!', it gathers acousticians, researchers and students for keynotes, concurrent technical sessions, a trade show and social functions.
CONZTRUCT, the touring building-industry trade expo run by The CMS Group, stops at Mercury Baypark in Tauranga on 11 November 2026 (3pm-6:30pm) with 50+ trade displays and CPD/LBP licence points for construction trades.
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Kohinga Koha 2026, the Te Arikinui Māori Economic Summit and business expo, runs 20–22 October 2026 at Mercury Baypark in Tauranga Moana, hosted by the three Tauranga Moana iwi.
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