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Chamber releases results of the 2010 business issues survey
The Rotorua Chamber of Commerce has released the comprehensive results from its round of business consultation. Consultation was based on a web-based survey of its members, four industry sector focus group discussions and a series of meetings with business and community groups. The overall participation in the process has involved 175 members representing 26 per cent of the organisation’s membership as well as a smaller number of non-members.
The objective of the consultation was to provide the Chamber with information on current business issues to produce its 2010 Manifesto for Local Authority Elections. The manifesto is used to inform candidates standing for election to Council of issues important to business. The same process was undertaken in 2007 and a comparison of the two manifestos provides interesting data on the trends between the two periods. In addition to issues of importance, respondents were also asked to rate Council’s performance in handling the issues. The results of the consultation can be viewed on the Chamber’s website in the column on the right of the News and Documents page.
The five most important issues to business (according to the survey) are:
· A tourism promotion strategy that positions Rotorua as the premier tourist destination in New Zealand.
· Having and implementing a strategy to provide infrastructure for business growth.
· A commitment to improve the water quality of Lake Rotorua and the other lakes in the District.
· A visionary and progressive development strategy to drive economic and population growth and community prosperity.
· Encouragement to new businesses to establish in Rotorua.
An analysis of the survey results provides a short list of issues on which the members of the Chamber want Council to place greater emphasis. This list includes issues of high importance but perceived lower current Council performance. The six short-listed issues are:
· Business growth strategy.
· Business friendly consents processes.
· Economic development strategy.
· Involvement of business in consultation on issues relevant to business.
· Strong leadership by Mayor and Council.
· Encouraging new businesses.
”The results of the survey make interesting reading,” according to Roger Gordon, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce. ”It indicates that business would like to see a greater emphasis placed on economic development and growth. The results of the survey and the comments that accompany the results in the report will generate a series of suggested action plans on each of the issues that we would encourage the incoming Council to consider.”
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