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10 May 1999: The opening of Hamilton�s first international-standard
hotel is set to establish the North Island provincial city as one of New
Zealand�s major centres for business, conference and leisure travel.
Novotel Tainui Hamilton opens its doors today, after being developed at a cost of NZ$26.5 million by a consortium of interests comprising Tainui Develpments, Hamilton City Council and Accor Asia Pacific. It is the sixth Novotel to open in New Zealand, joining other Novotel hotels in Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington and Queenstown. Another Novotel is under development in Ellerslie, Auckland, as part of a combined Novotel/Ibis complex and the first of Accor�s three-star Ibis brand will open in Wellington in the first half of 2000. The 177
room Novotel Tainui Hamilton is positioning itself as the Waikato region's
major conference venue, with the function centre able to host meetings
for up to 300. While the hotel expects much of the business to be locally
based, Hamilton's international airport - which caters for flights from
Australia - is also expected to contribute to the conference and tourism
sector.
�With the international airport and direct flights from Australia, and with Hamilton�s close proximity to Auckland, we see great potential for growing conference and leisure business,� said Mr Issenberg. �Being such an important commercial and agricultural centre, we�ve already received strong interest from corporate and government related clients, but we believe that we can also develop Hamilton as a base for tourism. It is well-positioned for tours to Waitomo Caves, Taupo, Tauranga and Rotorua, and with so much sport and other activities happening in and around Hamilton, we believe that we can grow the weekend leisure and conference market.� Opening rate for the hotel is NZ$129 (+ GST) per room, per night, including breakfast for two people. The special rate is valid till 31 July 1999. Accor is the world�s largest hotel and tourism company, with 2,800 hotels under brand names such as Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis. |
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