Mr Kim said customers were mainly Asian tourists and the deer museum catered for Chinese tourists, but they wanted to open it to the general public.
"[The visitors] are generally tour groups. We are constantly busy every lunchtime."
With the opening of the gallery, Mr Kim said six new staff would be hired, adding to their 25 staff.
He thought the international visitor spending of $370m was a "strong" number, but hoped it could be improved on in 2017.
"We are fairly new having only been open a year but we want to have a positive impact on the Rotorua community."
Meanwhile, the report also highlighted the number of migrants moving to Rotorua has increased, with 923, up from 718 a year ago.
Laurens Goormachtigh, 26, moved to Rotorua from Ghent, Belgium in January to take up a job at Scion as a researcher and developer in renewable resources.
The reputation and international environment at Scion enticed Mr Goormachtigh, as well as the natural environment.
"I've always been sporty and into the outdoors. The best things about Rotorua are the lakes and the Redwoods."
Mr Goormachtigh said he was surprised that of the 2360 migrants who had moved to the Bay of Plenty region 923 had chosen to settle in Rotorua.
"That's quite a substantial number, I would have thought they would go to Tauranga."
Another Scion employee Robert Radics, a value chain analyst, arrived in New Zealand with his family in December.
They are originally from Hungary, but had lived in the United States for five years before moving to Rotorua.
The pull of exotic adventures, good education for his children, and a job at Scion were several of the factors considered when making the move.
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said she was excited to see everything moving in a positive direction.
"[The report] shows a real momentum of sustained growth and I love to see Rotorua grow."
Highlights for Mrs Chadwick included the local GDP growth which sat above the New Zealand growth of 3.2 per cent, and the record visitor spend.
"We've got to keep a foot on the pedal in terms of investing. Rotorua is a recreation destination, an active community, not just a holiday destination."
Another highlight for Mrs Chadwick was the number of jobs, with the unemployment rate 5.8 per cent, down from 7.5 per cent a year earlier.
She admitted there were areas of improvement to be worked on, including the challenge for the building sector to find skilled and unskilled workers.
"We need to work with Toi Ohomai, preparing young people and the unemployed to match our market needs."
"Everything is going in the right direction. There is a buzz in the district and this report affirms it."
Moving forward, Mrs Chadwick said the council were in the second chapter of the Vision 2030 - The Rotorua Way and currently asking for community feedback.
"We want the public to tell us what [they] think are big moves moving forward. When you work with the community, the portfolios and projects tap into the potential in our place."
The report stated the average current house value in the Rotorua District was up 27 per cent in December 2016 compared with a year earlier.
REINZ Rotorua spokeswoman and First National principal Ann Crossley said this rise was good for Rotorua.
"We had some catching up to do. It reflects that the option to buy in Rotorua has come of age. We are no longer seen as a poor option but instead a good vibrant place to live, and reflects a good lifestyle."
Mrs Crossley said she expected the positive vibe and place to live would continue.
"I don't see any indication it won't be another year of positive growth."
Benje Patterson, a senior economist from Infometrics who worked on the report, said the results were not unexpected.
"Rotorua is a classic environment of growth, and tourism is going fantastically."
Mr Patterson said Rotorua was on the itinerary of most people, from New Zealand and internationally.
"This injects cash into the local economy."
He said another reason for growth was how affordable Rotorua was compared to Hamilton, Tauranga and Auckland.
"It's becoming a popular place to buy...people are increasingly moving for lifestyle."
