Economic impacts of a dark sky reserve in Waimakariri
Benje Patterson was commissioned by Enterprise North Canterbury to analyse the potential economic impacts from the creation of a dark sky reserve in Waimakariri centred on Oxford.
Articles written by leading NZ economist about Regional
Arapuke Forest Bike Park attracts $5.0 million to Manawatū
Arapuke Forest Park is a key drawcard for mountain bikers to Palmerston North and Manawatū District. In 2022, there was $5.0 million of spending in the region that was attributable to visitors for whom biking in Arapuke Forest was a key motivation for the visit.
Annualised 7% employment lift
Employment expanded by 0.6% (seasonally adjusted) in April! That is rapid growth for the month - annualised that would equate to more than 7% of additional filled jobs across a 12 month period.
Biking in Dunedin production forests a $16.7m drawcard
There was $16.7 million of spending in Dunedin during 2022 that was attributable to visitors for whom biking in the city's production forests was a key motivation for the visit.
Interview: Mountain biking in production forests
I recently appeared on Radio New Zealand's The Panel to discuss the $291 million spent by bike tourists to New Zealand's production forests in 2022.
Queenstown’s workforce squeeze has eased
There has been a huge lift in youth and female employment over the past year, which has massively eased employment shortages. The challenge moving ahead will be on retention, particularly in an environment where wage increases are unlikely to be as rapid as we have experienced recently due to signs that profit margins are becoming squeezed.
Bike tourism in production plantation forests worth $291 million
At least $291 million was spent by bike tourists who cycled through New Zealand’s production plantation forests in 2022. The top regions for production forest bike tourism are Rotorua, Auckland, Queenstown, Dunedin, and Christchurch, followed by Wanaka, Nelson Tasman, Taranaki, Taupō, and Coromandel.
Budget 2023: Regional Economic Development cheat sheet
I attended Budget 2023 with the sole focus of trying to establish what was in it for regional economic development. As I scanned through the Budget documents, I was immediately concerned that there was no regional economic development media release as there had been in previous budgets.
South Canterbury food & fibre exports punch above their weight
A report by regional economist Benje Patterson aims to highlight the contribution of Timaru and South Canterbury’s primary sector exports, and was commissioned by economic development agency Venture Timaru. Exports from the region totalled $3.9 billion in 2022.
Affordability not the problem for working homeless in Queenstown
The Minister has boiled Queenstown-Lakes' problem down to an acute shortage of affordable housing that we must build our way out of, but this belittles our short-term problem. Many people living in cars in Queenstown are not poor, with most employed and earning far more than even a living wage - they simply can’t find a house to rent at any price point.
Tourism employment conditions in Queenstown-Lakes
This report puts the spotlight on worker sentiment and employment conditions in Queenstown-Lakes compared to New Zealand. The data shows that workers in Queenstown-Lakes consistently reported higher levels of workplace satisfaction and better employment conditions than the New Zealand average.
More than 270,000 guest nights by over 65’s on West ...
A recent report by Benje Patterson estimates that there were 272,328 guest nights by silver tourists on the West Coast at the pre-Covid tourism peak, which equated to 21% of all guest nights in the region. The silver tourism economy, defined as touristic activity by people aged 65 years and over, represents a key growth opportunity for tourism in the West Coast.