Experience Economy.
Boasting New Zealand’s largest visitor economy, Auckland provides strong demand for new tourism-led development and experiences.
Sector Overview
Auckland is New Zealand's commercial capital and the first introduction to the country. Around 75% of the country's international visitors spend time in Auckland, making it a natural home for the tourism, retail, hospitality and major events that define the experience economy.
Tourism alone contributes NZ$6.5 billion to Auckland's GDP, with visitor spending reaching NZ$8.4 billion. That spend is more heavily weighted toward retail and culture than anywhere else in the country, which is a distinctive strength for the city.
Investment by Auckland Council and its agencies in place-making and the public realm has made the city centre, and particularly its waterfront, a desirable and vibrant place to visit and live.
Why Auckland for the Experience Economy?
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1.
A culture found nowhere else
Deepen your understanding of Auckland by exploring Māori-owned businesses and te ao Māori (the Māori worldview). Feel the spirit of manaakitanga (generosity and hospitality) in your connection with Auckland. Auckland is also the world's largest Polynesian city and home to more than 180 ethnicities, together defining a city that is open and welcoming to visitors.
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2.
A metropolitan centre close to nature
Few major international cities have what Auckland has an urban downtown with a sparkling harbour, with pristine nature less than an hour's drive away. From marine parks and islands to sandy beaches and native forest, the Auckland region's nature experiences are right on your doorstep.
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3.
Global and Indo-Pacific connections
Auckland is well-connected to major world hubs and to smaller, South Pacific nations. Its location, size and scale make it ideally located for international business and leisure travel.
Ecosystem
ORGANISATIONS
BUSINESSES
RESEARCH AND FUNDING
Success story
Precinct: helping to make Auckland city centre a place for people to live, work, play and stay.
For Auckland, the experience economy is based on a combination of the natural environment, te ao Māori, place-making and quality urban development by investors such as Precinct. The NZX-listed company has delivered around NZ$2.3 billion of new and regenerative projects, a portfolio that reads like a map of where Aucklanders and visitors now go to shop, eat, work and stay.
Precinct’s Commercial Bay reconnected the central city to the Waitematā waterfront, weaving more than 100 retailers, restaurants and bars through a laneway network anchored by the 41-storey PwC Tower and a five-star InterContinental hotel. A short walk away, the NZ$500 million Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct – five campus-style buildings – turned former marine industry land into a hub for creative and tech industries, hospitality and public space.
Developed in partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei (the city centre’s Māori iwi, or tribe), Precinct’s Downtown West project includes a 55-storey commercial tower, as well as a 162m mixed-use residential tower, hotel, retail, food and beverage spaces, publicly accessible civic spaces and an expansive laneway network. Precinct is also developing new 638-bed purpose-built student accommodation on Queen St and in Parnell.
Work with us
Meet Andrew Carpenter, our experience economy specialist.
Connects experience economy investors with Auckland opportunities, providing strategic advice, relationship management, and support for investment growth.
