Commenting on the ASB-Main Report regional economic scoreboard, Mr McIntyre said the numbers were not as bad in the region as the scoreboard indicated.
Otago was allocated two stars - somewhere between healthy with three stars and sad with one star.
''If you strip out the house prices, which are not an indicator of economic performance but of people's wealth, Otago probably qualifies for three stars.
''Sometimes, we just need the rub of the green. If we could get Invermay settled, the proposed hotel settled and become a base for the gas industry, we are well placed to be up there with Auckland and Canterbury.''
Mr McIntyre also picked prospects of Ngai Tahu investing in the city as a sign of confidence.
The rural sector would significantly benefit the region over the next 12 to 18 months as higher commodity prices flowed through. Nelson and Tasman were both on three stars and Mr McIntyre believed Otago should be also on three stars.
''We have to be realistic. We could do a lot better and the old adage `try harder' comes into play. We have to keep chipping away at our economic development strategy.''
Continual meetings were being held to discuss Dunedin's economic development strategy document and the key stakeholders were implementing their projects and reporting back regularly. Governance was now the key area to ensure projects were continually developed and updated, he said.
''Otago has a lot of advantages ahead of other regions. We are diversified compared to many. We need to work hard to make sure our companies operate successfully and grow our regional economy,'' Mr McIntyre said.
Auckland with five stars and Canterbury with four were the top New Zealand regions.
Auckland regained its top ranking after slipping to third place in June.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said the region rebounded on the back of strong population growth, with the turnaround in net migration over the past year having the most effect on Auckland.
''This population growth is flowing through to strong employment growth and housing market activity.''
Canterbury remained in second place, ''snapping at the heels'' of Auckland, he said. Rebuilding activity continued to attract workers to the region, driving strong population growth in the past year.
That translated to broader economic activity with retail sales, car registrations and house sales all rising strongly.
''Of course, the region continues to suffer from a shortage of housing and that continued to drive house prices higher.''
Employment growth had been weaker than expected, although there might be issues around how the official data was captured, Mr Tuffley said.
Otago's other neighbour, Southland, remained stuck at the bottom of the ranking. Residential construction and employment both fell sharply in the year. A lack of job opportunities might be a factor, with the population falling slightly over the year to June.
Despite some weak economic indicators, consumers were feeling upbeat, with consumer confidence in the region second only to Waikato.
''It's no surprise retail sales in the region grew at a decent clip over the last year. Strong dairy prices may be supporting confidence and should flow through into farming income that will benefit the broader regional economy soon,'' Mr Tuffley said.
Otago -
''Otago loses a few places in the rankings and one star this quarter. There aren't many areas of outright weakness, though. The softest is non-residential construction, which is down considerably on a year ago. Residential construction has actually been quite strong over most of 2013, which may provide some offset. The housing market does appear to have cooled a little over recent months, with growth in both prices and sales slowing slightly. Both are still growing. The Canterbury rebuild should provide plenty of demand for related sectors of the Otago economy. And strong demand for exports should continue to drive growth in the region's agricultural sector.''
Key to growth
• Retaining AgResearch's Invermay facility at its current status
• Having the proposed international hotel built in Dunedin
• Ngai Tahu continuing to invest in the city in show of confidence for Dunedin
• Making Dunedin a base for the gas exploration industry off the coast of Otago.
- Otago Chamber of Commerce president Peter McIntyreChamber points to scoreboard
