The Wanaka and Queenstown Chambers of Commerce are encouraging local businesses to contribute to an annual business confidence survey designed to provide greater insights into the local economy.

The survey - which is closing soon - is supported by the wider Southern Lakes Business Response Group, which formed in 2020 to coordinate the district’s response and recovery to the impacts of Covid-19.

“We have anecdotal stories of the challenges our business community is experiencing,” Ignite Wanaka Chamber of Commerce executive officer Naomi Lindsay said, “but we need to hear from many more businesses and more regularly to paint a more complete picture of business needs.”

In a recent update to members, Ignite Wanaka said reports suggested Christmas was quieter than usual for service industries, but the seven to ten days following New Year’s were “pretty busy”, with some reporting 20-30 per cent year-on-year revenue increases.

The survey is open to all businesses in the Queenstown Lakes district.

Looking forward to the next couple of months though, things were “looking very quiet”, while reports from the building, trades and professional services sectors indicated strong forward bookings and work for the first quarter of 2021. 

The information gathered from the survey will enable the Chambers of Commerce, Destination Queenstown, Lake Wanaka Tourism, Queenstown Lakes District Council and regional business partners to better advocate for and support the Southern Lakes businesses, as well as provide insights into future capability building of businesses.

It will be a quarterly initiative to ensure regular data is captured and will help create the ability to track trends and predict future business states.

One response per business is requested and the owner or a key management team member should complete the survey on behalf of the business. The survey is open to all businesses in the Southern Lakes District and takes three to four minutes to complete. 

It closes this Friday (February 12) at 5pm, so get in quick to contribute. 

Complete the survey here.

PHOTOS: Wanaka App