Confidence in Rotorua economy growing, says Westpac survey

Simon Kerr, of Zippy Central cafe, says there is now more competition. Photo/Ben Fraser

In a new survey local business leaders say Rotorua's economy is booming, but not all retailers agree.

The Westpac survey showed economic confidence in the wider Bay of Plenty region was up.

Rotorua Chamber of Commerce chief executive Allison Lawton said Rotorua was more than keeping up with economic growth in the rest of the region.

"Absolutely I believe the confidence in Rotorua is matching, and/or is better than the wider Bay of Plenty."

The chamber's own survey also revealed high economic confidence, she said.

"All sectors appear to be doing well. There is strong investment coming into the city and is evident with the new shopping precincts being built, or just completed and also new retailers coming into town. The Lions tour has provided a windfall during our low season."

Some retailers were more cautious about business growth and the state of the local economy.

Simon Kerr, of Zippy Central cafe, said business at the cafe has been particularly quiet lately.

"It's been a quiet winter, particularly quiet, but there's a lot more competition around. There are a lot more cafes out there now."

Sarah Ziessen, of Helium Gallery, said business was doing well but not brilliantly.

"It's not booming, but it's good definitely," she said.

The Westpac survey showed 42 per cent of households across the Bay of Plenty expected the economy to strengthen over the next year.

Economic confidence in the region dropped sharply in March, but the latest survey results revealed it has bounced back.

Mike Steiner, of the Inner City Focus group, said the economy in Rotorua had completely changed over the past four years and growth is continuing.

"We've got growth, we've got new stores opening up ... It's a different atmosphere altogether. Four years ago we were basically economically stagnant. Just look at how it's going now."

Lawton said the manufacturing, retail and tourism sectors were doing particularly well. The only downside to the economic boom, she said, was a lack of housing and skilled workers.

"I heard a story yesterday where currently there are 30 vacancies in one company and the pains of growing are reflected in the difficulty of recruiting skilled staff and not having sufficient housing stock.

"In this particular case, the owner successfully recruited an experienced person but lost them one month later because they could not find suitable housing."

Rotorua now needs the infrastructure to keep up with its economy, she said.

The rise in economic confidence in the Bay of Plenty was the highest of any region Westpac surveyed.

"Bay of Plenty residents are especially upbeat about prospects for the wider New Zealand economy over the next year," Westpac economist Michael Gordon said.

"A net 27 per cent of households think it is now a good time to buy a big-ticket household item, the highest proportion since March 2015."