Hon Steven Joyce

Minister for Economic Development
2 December 2016 Media Statement
“Waikato Story” to promote the Waikato region

Economic Development Minister Steven Joyce today launched the Waikato Story, a regionally-led initiative to promote Waikato as a unique place to live, work, study, visit and invest.

Mr Joyce says it’s great to see New Zealand’s regions building off the success of the New Zealand Story.

“The Waikato Story provides a way to communicate the region’s value to potential business investors, workers, visitors, students and families – not just within New Zealand, but also around the world,” Mr Joyce says.

“With strong industry sectors like dairy, forestry and mining, and a great quality of life with a growing urban centre, Waikato has an excellent story to tell. Profiling unique local features will help reinforce people’s pride in the region – features such as the excellent tertiary institutions, national tourism attractions like the Coromandel and Hobbiton, and a strong Māori culture and asset base.

“Consistently telling this story will highlight the region’s competitive advantage to investors and will be key to supporting the region’s growth aspirations.”

Various government agencies have assisted with the development of the Waikato Story, which has been regionally-driven as a strategic priority under the economic development strategy, Waikato Means Business.

“Waikato Means Business was developed at a regional level and the Government is taking a cross-agency approach to supporting the implementation of this strategy through our Regional Growth Programme,” Mr Joyce says.

“In consultation with major stakeholders and in support of the Waikato Story,Education New Zealand has developed an International Education Strategy for the region. The strategy proposes to grow international education to become one of the region’s economic powerhouses and increase the economic benefit of the industry.

“Work is already underway to develop marketing and digital collateral to complement the Waikato Story and better promote the region as a great destination for international students.”

The Waikato Story was developed over the last year with extensive input from leaders across the private sector, iwi/Māori, local and central government, tertiary sector, tourism organisations, community groups and others in the region. The package launched today includes video, photos, infographics, case studies and reports.

The Waikato Story package is available here.

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