By ELIZABETH BINNING
The Last Samurai created 1400 fulltime jobs, upped some Taranaki firms' turnover by 800 per cent and injected nearly $90 million into the economy.
A report shows the $170 million movie, starring Tom Cruise, left a major economic impression when it was filmed in Taranaki last year.
The blockbuster injected $85.5 million into the national economy, with more than half of that going directly into the Taranaki region.
Flow-on activity lifts that national figure to an estimated $196 million.
Much of the money went on the movie itself, but businesses benefited from the $10 million spent on accommodation and $3.65 million spent on food and entertainment in Taranaki bars, cafes, clubs and restaurants.
The study shows more than a third of all Taranaki businesses provided a product or service to the film company and that for some, turnover increased dramatically - up to 800 per cent.
Taranaki people got nearly half the 1400 fulltime jobs for New Zealanders.
Stuart Trundle, chief executive of Venture Taranaki, which commissioned the economic impact study, said the region rose to the challenge of a major Hollywood project and clearly had the infrastructure to do so again.
The filming of The Last Samurai had left Taranaki with an economic boost and a wave of optimism, he said.
"They [the locals] developed a determined can-do attitude and proved they could foot it with the best."
The study also made suggestions such as greater Government input, an expert dedicated to particular productions, and addressing tax, immigration, resource-consent and regional tourism opportunity issues.
Taranaki's samurai legacy: profits and new optimism
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