Economic Development News: February 2024
Published on 16 February 2024
Our Business Associations (BAs) are running hot early in 2024, continuing to drive activity and morale around our district so that we have vibrant and thriving communities. This is the result of a joint effort between our dedicated BA chairs and members, our Council and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), to push ahead with initiatives for post recovery and resilience.
To keep up the momentum, our Economic Development team hosted a business forum hui in Whangamatā. This was an opportunity to discuss how our Council can collectively support our business communities throughout 2024.
The hui was attended by business associations, information centres, and other representatives who supported our business Cyclone recovery work last year.
It was great to discuss the challenges and opportunities for our business associations and the business communities they represent, and reflect on how our Council can support them. The importance of roading network resilience was also raised.
Attendees heard from Tony Kane about the Business Mentor Programme. This programme connects business owners with mentors to help develop their business and themselves. Tony noted how great it would be to have more mentors and mentees across our district. You can find out more about the programme here.
All of our district’s business associations (BAs) were allocated funding mid-2023, as part of a joint initiative between our Council and MBIE to support our local economy following the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle. Each BA developed a plan of work in consultation with our Economic Development Team.. The focus was on creating initiatives that would attract visitors back to the region, after the devastation caused by the weather events at the beginning of 2023.
Asking the BAs to develop and lead this work, has helped empower local business owners to make decisions based on what they saw as the best opportunities to reinvigorate their local business community. Initiatives have included events, networking opportunities, training and upskill sessions, and one-on-one support with business support mentors.
Here’s some highlights and upcoming events of note.
Thames Business Association
Thames BA also hosted a hugely successful Wings and Wheels this summer, with over 5,000 people enjoying a showcase of aeroplanes, both modern and vintage from around the world, vintage cars including a 1926 Tudor Form Model T, Trucks, motorcycles music and more. https://explorethames.nz/business-association/
Enterprise Whangamatā
Business After 5 hosted ‘Noddy Watts from Beach Hop at Edisons Cinema Lane, which is the new event facility that’s recently opened. . Booking is also open for the Business Expo ’24 on 5 March. Local experts in IT, Finance, Procurement, POS Innovation, Legal and Marketing will be available for private meetings, questions and conversation. Details for both events can be found here.
Enterprise Whangamatā also recently hosted the inaugural Paradise Coast Golf Classic. This fantastic event attracted over 100 golfers to three days of golf, playing between The Lakes Resort in Pauanui, Tairua Golf and Country Club, culminating in a third day of competition at Titoki in Whangamatā.
And keep an eye out for updates on this year’s Wild Women’s Weekend, scheduled for May.
https://www.whangamata.org.nz/
Coromandel Town BA
The Coromandel Town Business Association supported the hugely successful Keltic Fair which attracted artists both local and from afar with over 300 stalls, arts and crafts and entertainment. Over 1500 visitors attended this highlight of the Coromandel summer calendar, with works on display along “Coro Street” set up for local artists at no cost.
https://www.colvilleandbeyond.co.nz/info-for-funders
Mercury Bay Business Association
MBBA is off to a roaring start, hosting and supporting a number of fun-filled events over December and January, including BayJam (which attracted over 4,000 people to day of music, markets and food), Fairies, Pirates & Princesses in the Park, the Whitianga Santa Parade and the Christmas Street Festival.
https://whitianga.co.nz/business-association/
Tairua BA
The newly formed Tairua Business Association is doing a fantastic job providing avenues for local entrepreneurs and businesses to advertise their services, products and specials, and to share events and matters of interest to the community. It supported the recent Amazing Race which saw teams of six race around Tairua using a map and navigational skills to traverse the course as quickly as possible, with prizes for best dressed, those who had the most fun and spot prizes throughout the day.
Contact: Peter Hunt chairperson@tairua.biz
Exciting Pāuanui
Community unity was on full display when Pāuanui locals and visitors joined the inaugural Pāuanui Pink Walk in a show of support for the Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand. The coastal town turned into a pink haven as 135 participants, spanning all ages, donned vibrant outfits, and walked together in a visually-stunning spectacle along Pāuanui’s scenic pathways and beach.
The latest data aligns with what many of you are seeing and hearing around our district – that summer visitors are back and spending, even if overall spending is down somewhat compared to 2022.
The latest figures from Marketview show visitor spending in December this year doubled from the month before, thanks to domestic travelers heading to our region.
Total visitor spending in our district was $40.8 million for December. Domestic visitors accounted for 85 per cent of this spend at $35 million, with international visitors making up the rest at $6 million.
This spending is more than double the amount spent in the previous month of November 2023. However, overall spend is down compared to 2022, with total spend at $2.5 million less this December than in the same month in 2022. Domestic spending is $2 million less this December compared to December 2022, and international spend is $0.5 million less than it was in December 2022.
As is typical of December, average spend per transaction was also higher compared to other months of the year – higher by almost $3 per transaction compared to the average for 2023. This lift is almost entirely driven by domestic visitors spending more per transaction during the summer months.
This December domestic visitors spent $49.77 on average per transaction, while international visitors spent $54.89 on average per transaction. The overall average value per transaction is 12 cents less than last December.
Looking more closely, we can see international visitors spent almost $4 less per transaction on average than they did in December 2022, but there were around 20,000 more transactions. Domestic visitors spent 30 cents more per transaction, but there were 50,000 less transactions. Combining these impacts leads to the headline figures of spend being $2.5 million less this December.
Calendar year 2023 vs 2022
As we look across 2023, total spend was $250 million for the year, down by $50 million (-16 per cent) on 2022 spending levels. Domestic visitor spending accounted for 87 per cent ($219 million) of the 2023 spend, with international visitor spend the remaining 13 per cent (of $31 million). As with prior years, retail trade captured 70 per cent of the spend in 2023.
Average transaction value
|
2022
|
2023
|
Change on 2022
|
|
Domestic visitor
|
$ 47.84
|
$ 46.53
|
-$ 1.31
|
|
International visitor
|
$ 61.88
|
$ 56.43
|
-$5.45
|
|
All visitors
|
$ 47.84
|
$ 47.58
|
-$ 0.26
|
Our Quarterly Business Impact Survey is now open, to ensure your voice is heard as we move into post-recovery phase from the weather events of 2023.
Over the coming year, our Council will continue to advocate for funding and support for our business communities.
To do this effectively, it is extremely important that we get a good understanding of your needs and priorities.
We encourage all businesses to take part in the survey which can be accessed here.
Work on a significant upgrade to Te Ariki Tahi / Sugarloaf Wharf in Coromandel Harbour is now back underway following a significant legal decision.
In a recently released judgment, the High Court did not uphold an appeal of the project’s resource consent by the Waipapa Bay Protection Society. This means the upgrade to Te Ariki Tahi, a shared commercial and recreational wharf facility near Coromandel Town, will now resume. It is the primary wharf for our aquaculture industry in the Hauraki Gulf, handling 90 per cent of mussels harvested in the North Island.
The upgrade will double the size of the existing facility to establish five commercial berths and a separate recreation facility with dual boat ramps. It will allow for the continued growth and expansion of the aquaculture industry in the region, as well as provide safer segregation of recreational users from industrial areas. Consent to undertake the upgrade was fast-tracked under COVID-19 recovery legislation.
“We’re hugely relieved to be able to make progress again,” says Andrew Stevens, the independent chair of Ariki Tahi Sugarloaf Wharf Ltd, a joint venture company between Thames-Coromandel District Council, Coromandel Marine Farmers Association and the Crown, which was formed to fund and manage the upgrade.
“The wharf as it stands is over capacity. It’s not at all fit to meet the projected needs of the aquaculture industry, nor of recreational users,” says Mr Stevens. “The key objective of the Crown in funding the wharf was to see regional benefits from continued growth in aquaculture, and we’ll resume to realise that goal.”
He says procurement for initial project components is now underway, along with a re-evaluation of costs impacted by the delay, so a construction programme can be finalised.
If you’re interested in further details on the court decision, the full High Court judgment can be read here.
The Kōpū Marine Precinct build is now on the final stretch, with finishing fittings to be installed over the next few weeks.
Heron Construction is on site, and has concrete decking poured, the floating pontoon installed and the fendering systems fixed to the fender piles. The gangway, lights, bollards and other fittings are next for installation.
Meanwhile, the commercial wharf is near complete, as Land & Sea Civil have commenced the abutment for the commercial slipway’s catwalk. Fulton Hogan are also on site and are currently progressing trenching for services out to the boat ramps and wharf, and laying kerb lines at King Street.
Work is on schedule for a May 2024 opening. For more information see tcdc.govt.nz/kopu
Ka pū te ruha, ka hao te rangatahi
When the old net is cast aside, the new net goes fishing.
We are delighted to welcome Jessica Black as an advisor to our Economic Development Team, and we are sad to say goodbye to Jason Nepia whose contract has now concluded.
Here’s a few words of introduction from Jess:
Kia ora,
Working in Economic Development is a privileged position, because it’s work that lifts living standards for our communities. Be it across business and sector development, employment, education, housing, and infrastructure projects, these are all impactful spaces. So I’m excited to be in a position to support this at TCDC for our district.
I’ve only been living here for a couple of months but I can already feel what it means to live in the Thames-Coromandel. Regardless of what community you’re based in, three crunchy things seem to really matter to us:
- Housing - affordability and provision
- Resilience – roading, connectivity, environment
- Connection to the sea – it’s our lifeblood and an extension of our identity.
I’m originally from Aparima / Riverton, a small farming and fishing town at the very bottom of the South Island. Prior to my move to Thames for this role, I spent almost four years in Wellington, working as a Consultant in Economics, Finance, and Economic Development, at MartinJenkins. I worked with central and local government on industry transformation, business investment, cost benefit analysis, socio-eco impact assessments, business cases for funding bids, and all things workshops and interviews. My favourite part of that work was getting into the regions and working ‘on the ground’ in economic development initiatives, so I’m grateful to be continuing that work at TCDC.
You’ll find me asking loads of questions, such as: Why does this matter to you? What does success look like? How can we link to create impact? Do you have enough evidence to support sound decision-making?
I value connecting with others and seeing an idea turn into action, so please do reach out.
Ngā mihi,
Jess
Economic Development Advisor
027 32 0092
Jessica.Black@tcdc.govt.nz
