One of the latest economic development initiatives for the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) is aimed at gaining a better understanding of those who live in the district but earn their income elsewhere.

The Remote Economy Project (the project) is an independently-conducted research project commissioned by QLDC, which will delve into this aspect of our local population via a short online survey.

QLDC Economic Development Manager Peter Harris advised this group of people presents a potentially valuable opportunity for the district’s economy and is therefore worthy of further exploration, following on from QLDC’s 2018 Quality of Life Survey.

“20% of the Quality of Life survey respondents stated that they travel outside of the district for work or education. Through this project, we aim to understand a bit more about the characteristics of these residents, the types of study, work and industries, that they are part of,” said Mr Harris.

The project is also being supported by Start Up Queenstown Lakes (SQL) and completed on behalf of QLDC by Arrowtown-based researcher, Kate Campbell.

“QLDC wants to understand whether some of these people are interested in getting more involved in starting or supporting knowledge-based businesses within our district. If this research finds people who are keen to have a greater local connection, we will work on the next steps,” Mr Harris added.

The research phase will complete by 26 April and the report and recommendations are due to be published in early July.

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