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.
Articles written by leading NZ economist about Regional
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.
Silver tourism is a key growth opportunity for the tourism ...
The silver tourism economy is a big deal for New Zealand – with silver tourists representing one in five travellers across the country. Silver tourists are travellers aged 65 years and older. As a cohort these older travellers are often overlooked, but silver tourists represent a key growth opportunity for tourism across our regions.
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.
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 – […]