From Monday 18 September there will be no parking available directly outside the Gorge Road Council office due to construction activity associated with the Town Centre Arterial Road. Our Gorge Road Council office will be open as usual. But if you’d prefer, you can make use of our online services via our website or give us a call on 03 441 0499.

Strong winds and heavy rain have affected many roads and some properties across the district. Queenstown emergency services and QLDC are currently dealing with a number of properties impacted by the weather. Some residents have self-evacuated and those requiring shelter are being supported at Queenstown Memorial Hall. Further information here.

Diversifying our economy

We need to ensure our economy is resilient and future-proofed with high value jobs.

Who we work with

Startup Queenstown Lakes Study Queenstown Film Otago Southland

Support for existing businesses

We also support growth and development for existing businesses. Key partners in this space include NZTE, Callaghan Innovation, the Regional Business Partners Network, and the Chambers of Commerce in Queenstown and Wānaka.

Key projects

New niches and specialisms

Identifying specialisms and supporting them to grow is a key part of diversifying the economy. A growing local niche we have been supporting is technology for tourism - technology that can be used to drive productivity, customer experience, and the product offering. In 2019, our district hosted the inaugural TourismTech expo which showcased a large number of local tourism tech exhibitors. 

Remote worker economy

We recently commissioned research about people who live in our district but work for clients or employers elsewhere. Often these people work under the radar but our survey showed they are keen to get more connected locally. The summary is available to view below.

Diversification in Queenstown Lakes

Diversification in Queenstown Lakes explores the context around diversification in the Queenstown Lakes district and looks at what others have done, with case studies from the USA, Sweden, Chile and Australia. The findings are found below.

Home for Healthier Business

A campaign initiative to promote and attract diverse businesses to Queenstown Lakes and highlight the growing diversity in our economy: https://healthierbusiness.org/

Developing a regional approach

The regions across Otago are increasingly connected places. Because of this, the EDU partnered with regional counterparts to create an economic development framework. This framework helps to identify and progress opportunities to improve the economic wellbeing of the residents, employees and employers across the Otago region: https://www.qldc.govt.nz/community/economic-development/future-proofed-infrastructure