Otago has crashed Nelson’s party and moved to the top of the ASB Regional Economic Scoreboard.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said yesterday Otago had risen to the top spot, from fourth place in the third quarter, as retailers cashed in on a great season.
In addition to a stellar quarter for local retailers, Otago had added nearly 5% in additional workers across the past 12 months.
Guest nights were more subdued than in previous quarters but it was likely due to a lack of capacity in Queenstown.
The Otago Daily Times reported yesterday a further 2700 hotel rooms were either being built or proposed in Queenstown as another new five-star facility opened in the resort.
Mr Tuffley said he was a "touch sceptical" retail activity levels could be maintained during the summer months, particularly in the tourist centres as accommodation hit capacity.
The Government boosts to tertiary education funding, including the first year being free, could mean the activity baton passing to Dunedin from Queenstown.
Otago Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dougal McGowan does not believe retailers throughout the region will suffer to the extent suggested by the ASB.
Many people were using Airbnb to find accommodation rather than staying in the centres of towns or cities. Those people were still using hospitality outlets and buying groceries locally when needed.
The regions had weathered the winter season well and the scene was set for a strong summer, he said.
Dunedin still had major events, such as international cricket matches, to look forward to and Central Otago was likely to have a busy tourist season.
The only concern Mr McGowan had was orchardists finding enough people to pick their summer fruit crop. Some construction firms were also having difficulties finding staff.
Southland rose two spots in the last quarter to 13th equal with Waikato. The shining light for the province had been the construction sector, Mr Tuffley said. Consents were up more than 50% in the past year. Car sales and house prices had both experienced annual growth of near 10%.
"From here, we think Southland can continue to climb the scoreboard. The lift in the milk price has started to improve dairy sector cash flows.
"The sheep sector is also on the up on the back of very healthy lamb prices. Indeed, Southlanders have got plenty to look forward to in 2018."
Otago-Southland Employers Association chief executive Virginia Nicholls said Invercargill had felt the benefits from the overflow of international tourists from Queenstown and was also holding more conferences.
A new hotel was also being planned for Invercargill and Southland was experiencing strong growth with Airbnb, which was up by 90% to 571 properties since the start of the year.
Year-end international visitor spending was up 21% and the domestic visitor spend rose nearly 3%.
The new tourist attractions in Invercargill, centred on transport and motorcycle themes, were attracting more visits.
Domestic guest nights were expected to increase in the future, she said. Central Otago had experienced a record season and skifields were opening for longer.
The Winter Games, held across five skifields close to Queenstown and Wanaka - Cardrona, Treble Cone, Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and the Snow Farm - had been a significant contributor to growth as athletes from around the world arrived to train and compete.
"This has also increased the skifields’ reputation and branding internationally, which is great news."
Canterbury moved up the scoreboard to 12th and it might be the first signs of more balanced growth across the region, Mr Tuffley said.
