Almost 1000 veterinarians, veterinary nurses, front line staff, vet business managers and industry exhibitors poured into Hamilton from all over the world this week for the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) Conference which started yesterday at Claudelands Hamilton.

During the four day conference, which runs from 21–24 June, delegates will attend workshops by local and overseas experts and researchers, and celebrate the 250 year anniversary of the veterinary profession working to improve animal and human health worldwide.

The Conference is the largest multidisciplinary veterinary conference in New Zealand and organizer VetLearn Manager Leanne Fecser said this year’s is their biggest to date with attendance confirmations –ranging in price from $1200 for NZVA members to $1500 for non members for the four days - exceeding previous conferences by almost 100%.

"I think the increase of interest is due to an excellent programme plus I believe it has helped having the conference in Hamilton because of its proximity to large numbers of small vets in Auckland and the dairy industry vets in Hamilton” said Fecser 

With over 800 delegates attending from outside the Waikato District and around 100 of these coming from as far away as Australia, the USA and the UK, Hamilton is set to benefit from an increase in business tourism.

"At times, during our event, we will have nine different streams running at once and the venue allows us this type of flexibility. Claudelands is one of the biggest venues in NZ for conferencing and as Hamilton expands its accommodation options it will win more international conferences.

"Claudelands is an amazing venue and a credit to the community. The people of Hamilton and the venue staff have been very welcoming, accommodating and fantastically easy to work with. We are so pleased with the experience we have booked in for 2012, so we’ll be back!"