New Zealand’s largest city offers both economic appeal and an enviable lifestyle, writes Jeremy Tredinnick
A fair wind is blowing across the Hauraki Gulf towards Auckland. In days long past, this would have been good news for its residents, who would have eagerly gathered at the waterfront Ferry Building as tall ships sailed in from distant lands to this remote corner of the British Empire.Today, it works well as a metaphor for the city’s fast-paced growth, booming economy and high quality of life. The internet age has brought global connectivity, while the rapid increase of airlines flying to this Antipodean archipelago has also served to reduce its reputation as a beautiful but distant backwater. Foreign visitor arrivals at the end of February were 10 per cent up year-on-year, at 3.17 million, with holiday arrivals seeing 14.3 per cent growth.
The tourism industry is a major segment of New Zealand’s economy – the drama and variety of its landscapes are renowned worldwide – but business opportunities are plentiful, and nowhere more so than in Auckland, the country’s commercial capital and largest city.
Patrick McVeigh, general manager for business, innovation and skills at Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), says: “Auckland represents 35 per cent of national GDP, so we are the city that’s driving the performance of the economy.”
It also happens to be a highly picturesque place, built on hilly ground beside a huge harbour dotted with subtropical islands, bays and peninsulas boasting balmy residential areas.
Auckland is known as the “City of Sails”, as it has the highest per-capita boat-owning population in the world, dominated as it is by water – a 30-minute drive from the Hauraki Gulf and Pacific Ocean in the east leads to the black volcanic sand beaches of the west coast, facing the Tasman Sea and Australia beyond.
A stroll down Queen Street towards the waterfront takes you past Aotea Centre on the left, with its open square, event venue and theatre; then on the right the revitalised historic Britomart district, the lanes and squares of which have become a lively shopping and dining hub. Hit the waterfront, where huge cruise liners park next to bustling ferry terminals, and you know you’ve reached the nexus of the city.
MASS APPEAL
Auckland was ranked third in the 2012, 2013 and 2015 Mercer Quality of Living surveys, and the city continues to appeal to large numbers of migrants, mainly from Australia and Asia, for whom its benign climate, clean air and way of living are major pull factors.
Franz Mascarenhas, managing director of the Langham Auckland hotel, believes the current government’s policies have been progressive and have worked well for the country. “A steady inflow of skilled migrants and a booming tourist industry have ensured a strong economy,” he says.
Auckland’s vision is to become an innovation hub, and this is being developed by ATEED in conjunction with Auckland Council and partners such as Tourism New Zealand and the Auckland Convention Bureau, which aims to boost the worth of the business event sector from NZ$236 million (£111m) in 2013 to NZ$430 million (£203m) by 2023.
McVeigh says: “Auckland is one of a wave of New World cities that have emerging areas of economic specialisation, high quality of life, plus growing and ethnically diverse populations – cities like Brisbane, Vancouver, Barcelona. They are the ones that we benchmark ourselves against.”
He adds: “We do very well [with our] lack of corruption, ease and low comparative costs of setting up and doing business, and excellent e-finance systems.”
The Global Innovation Index 2015 ranked New Zealand 15th out of 141 countries and fourth in South East Asia and Oceania, behind Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea (placed seventh, 11th and 14th overall).
McVeigh says: “Auckland has a diverse economy. There’s a strong property sector, we are New Zealand’s centre for business and financial services, and we have a buoyant construction and engineering sector, benefiting from significant investment in infrastructure programmes. The technology sector has been increasing quickly, with a 26 per cent growth rate [between 2009 and 2014].” Annual GDP was up 6.9 per cent last year, accounting for 36.6 per cent of New Zealand’s total growth.
WINDS OF CHANGE
One market that is advancing at a rate of knots is the cruise industry. Mascarenhas says: “The number of cruise ships coming into Auckland is fast approaching the levels Sydney has, which is why Auckland Council is looking at building a new cruise ship terminal.”
This is one of many development programmes that the council is undertaking as part of its masterplans for the city centre and waterfront. Huge tracts of land along the embankment have already undergone renovation, and there’s much more to come throughout the city in the years ahead.
Auckland is not a big place, and generally everything is in close proximity within the downtown area – a 15-minute walk or less. The CBD’s high-rise buildings follow a gentle slope down to the Ferry Wharf and Viaduct Harbour residential and commercial precinct – a pleasant place to stroll.
The CBD offers more than 6,000 rooms in two- to five-star hotels, but this is set to increase. High-end brands in the city include Sofitel, Pullman and Hilton Hotels and Resorts. A Park Hyatt is set to join them in 2018, and a Ritz-Carlton in 2019.
A major player in the city is Skycity Entertainment Group, which owns the Skycity integrated complex of two hotels, a casino and convention centre slap-bang in the middle of town. The landmark Sky Tower is also here – from which brave souls can bungee for thrilling freefalls on to a platform just above the street far below.
Skycity has recently agreed to a partnership with the government to build the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), which will hold 2,850 delegates and open in 2019. Across the road from the Skycity Convention Centre, the NZICC will also have a five-star hotel.
Another significant area of development is Wynyard Quarter, which borders Viaduct Harbour. The latter was first developed in the 1990s for the America’s Cup, but a more recent international sporting event was the catalyst for further change. Anna Hayward, manager of the Auckland Convention Bureau, says: “The legacy of the Rugby World Cup in 2011 has been amazing. It improved our infrastructure, a lot of precincts were developed, [and] they built the walking bridge that connects the Wynyard and Viaduct Harbour areas to the city.”
ATEED’s McVeigh says: “The Wynyard Quarter has been ten years coming. There’s 48,000 sqm of commercial space, half of which is designated as an innovation precinct, GridAKL; it’s got a number of apartments and a high-quality urban fabric. That’s all integrated with the existing leisure offering, which was opened as part of the Rugby World Cup.”
Peeking into the eco-friendly buildings of the Wynyard precinct, where bright young things are brainstorming in open-plan offices, it’s easy to sense the enthusiasm powering the start-up scene here.
GLOBAL PLAYER
To keep up with all this, the transport sector needs to evolve as well. Auckland will grow by more than 700,000 people over the next 30 years, and infrastructure projects are under way to cater for them. The Waterview road plan will create a “figure eight” around the city, improving traffic flow, but more important is the underground City Rail Link, a 5.5-year project costing NZ$2.5 billion (£1.2 billion) that will serve up to 30,000 people per hour, with plans to link downtown Auckland with the airport.
The optimism is palpable in the City of Sails, but all will be for nought if the air traffic in and out of the city cannot support the growth. Auckland International handles more than 70 per cent of all arrivals into New Zealand, with 120 international flights landing every day and 26 international airlines flying direct to Auckland from dozens of destinations around the world.
A relatively small, compact facility at present, there are plans for an “airport of the future”, in the words of its chief executive, Adrian Littlewood. The first major step of the 30-year project will be to move most domestic flights to a new combined terminal on the southern end of the existing international terminal. The ambitious expansion plan, which includes a long-delayed second runway by 2025, should start to deliver results for travellers in as little as five years.
An ever-expanding route network is also crucial, and national carrier Air New Zealand has been highly successful in competing in the cut-throat world of global aviation. René de Monchy, director of trade, PR and major events for Tourism New Zealand, says: “It’s not a big airline in the grand scale of things, but it is a great example of a Kiwi business that boxes above its weight, through innovation and doing things differently.”
Last December, the airline added direct flights to Buenos Aires and Houston. In March, Emirates introduced a Dubai-Auckland route using an A380 – the world’s longest flight, at 17 hours and 15 minutes – while Qatar Airways will launch a Doha service (15 minutes longer) in February next year.
With the city now accessible from a wide variety of countries, new markets have appeared. “We see real opportunity for India and Indonesia, markets with big population growth and an emerging middle class,” de Monchy says.
Auckland today is a fusion of cultures from across the globe. Inevitably, urban pressures occur with integration, but overall this has to be one of the most inclusive, open-minded metropolises in the world. “The word laid-back is used to describe Kiwis but I think it’s more that people are relaxed with each other – the way people talk to each other, even in a business setting, is quite informal,” de Monchy says.
Some might wonder if this attitude is conducive to doing business, but de Monchy says: “New Zealanders are quite focused. Because the work-life balance concept is highly regarded, people work fast – they would rather get their jobs done and be able to leave in good time, than work slowly and stay deep into the evening.” Living here, who can blame them?
