Benje Patterson – ‘set your own boundaries’
Arrowtown-based economist Benje Patterson has been working remotely from Arrowtown for six years now – long before it was fashionable, and the young father of three wouldn’t have it any other way.
Yearly Archives: 2022
Population growth flatlines, but some regions are still booming
People have been leaving New Zealand as the borders have reopened. But that isn’t the end of the story for regional population growth. Taking an even closer look at the regions shows that people are not only leaving New Zealand, but are also migrating within the country.
Regional entrepreneurship leads the charge
There was sharp lift in the number of businesses operating in New Zealand over the past year – […]
Reserve Bank shouldn’t be too trigger happy despite high inflation
Inflation data to September caught many forecasters with their pants down. The consensus had been that inflation would […]
Strong headline, masks recession for some
Don't let the stonking GDP headline of 1.7% production growth in just three months mislead you. Growth was strong in the June quarter, compared to March, only because March was nothing to write home about. The March quarter was a write-off - as we all sat spluttering at home with Omicron.
Queenstown risks reputational damage
Queenstown - they risk damaging the entire reputation of the New Zealand tourism sector. If people go home not having been able to wine, dine, and play how and when they want, then people won't wax lyrical about New Zealand to their friends and family when they return home.
$139.8 million spent in Rotorua by mountain bikers who visited ...
A new Benje Patterson report commissioned by RotoruaNZ that assesses the contribution of mountain biking to the Rotorua Lakes Economy shows that $103.4m was spent in Rotorua last year by visitors who visited for the sole purpose of mountain biking. Other visitors who mountain biked while staying in Rotorua for other reasons spent a further $36.4m, a total contribution of $139.8m to the local economy.
Economic cohesion is improving across the regions
A key focus of regional economic development is to help ensure that economic opportunities are widespread throughout the regions. Ideally over the long term we want to see the gaps between economic performances in our regions close so that where you are located is no barrier to success.
Reforesting Arrowtown’s backcountry
onomics has recently committed to a long-term sponsorship of the Arrowtown Choppers to support their goal of planting 18,000 native trees in the hills behind Arrowtown over the next three years.
Queenstown Lakes labour market insights to August 2022
The borders have reopened and visitors are returning to Queenstown-Lakes. The additional demand is a lifeline for tourism businesses starved of revenue over the past couple of years. However, finding workers to service this demand remains an acute challenge.
Economics student internship – summer 22/23 | Arrowtown
We are looking for an economics student for a five-to-eight-week summer internship. Do you want to spend a summer in Arrowtown working on applied economic problems in the South Island’s only private economic consultancy? Do you have exceptional problem solving and writing skills?
Tourism’s recovery is catching us off guard
It was a pleasure to sit down with BusinessDesk for a Sharesies shared lunch. We talked in detail about the tourism recovery, with a strong focus on understanding how demand is returning, but that labour challenges remain a key threat to the recovery.