Development West Coast
tracks key indicators to access how the region is performing.

Studying our economic structure and performance trends allows us to identify areas of potential growth and need. 

Armed with that information DWC can help West Coast businesses and our region grow.

The New Zealand Economy  

The New Zealand economy has continued to recover over the early months of 2010. However, risks to the short-term outlook persist due to problems in European debt markets and fragile domestic confidence. Despite these problems, we expect the domestic recovery to consolidate over 2010 as international conditions improve and commodity prices hold up. Economic activity is expected to rise 3.7% in the year to March 2011, followed by a 4.0% increase in the year to March 2012.

The West Coast Business Landscape

Business on the West Coast has seen resurgence in the last ten years and more recently it was identified, as one of few regions across the nation to have weathered the recession well.

Agriculture, extractive industries and tourism are the driving forces of the West Coast economy, with developing opportunities in horticulture, food production and light engineering. During 2009 the three local authority districts were among the highest performing districts in New Zealand. Despite the recession, GDP grew by 4.6 percent. The mining sector was the primary contributor to the growth.

Westland District, while lower performing than the other districts, still performed well, with GDP growth of 3.2 percent and employment growth 3.7 percent for the March 2009 Year.

Economic Indicator reports

Every year Development West Coast commissions BERL (Business and Economic Research Ltd.) to gather relevant regional economic indicators and prepare an analytic report for the West Coast. A summary table of the main indicators in the report can be seen here. To download the full report form click here. (pdf 1.06 MB)

Each quarter the ASB Bank and the National Bank publish an analysis of national and regional economic trends.

To view these reports click on the relevant links below:

ASB Main Report (Regional Economic Scoreboard) (links to a downloadable PDF 85kb)
Nation Bank Regional Trends

Tourism Reports

Tourism statistics are an important economic indicator not only to tourism operators but to the significant number of SME's in the retail and services sector that also benefit from this sector.

The Ministry of Tourism collates research and statistics and publishes official tourism data on their website. A quick summary of the most up to date key Tourism Statistics can be found here:

Regional Tourism Forecasts 2008-2014
Key Tourism Indicators