| 7 Whanganui and Partners - Unesco City of Design REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Wight Aluminium is one of the country’s largest aluminium fabricators, and Q-West Boat Builder designs and manufactures boats for the likes of Fullers, Whale Watch Kaikoura, NZ Police, and NZ Customs. Whanganui’s arts and creative industries grew by 11% in 2021 (NZ average growth was 0.1% in 2022) and 10% in 2022 (the NZ average was also 10%). There was 9.3% growth in employment in creative industries in 2021, and 3% growth in 2022 (NZ 0.8% in 2021 and 2.7% in 2023). Infometrics predicts employment growth in the sector to continue a steady upward trend in its five-year forecast, which is no surprise considering Whanganui’s strengths as a City of Design. Jonathan points to all the measures of economic performance and says that post covid, they are the best they have been in a generation. “Businesses are growing and we are an export city and region across manufacturing and primary industries. Whanganui had 5.6% GDP growth in 2022, ahead of the national average of 5.3%. Our strongest sector is manufacturing, contributing an 11.2% share of total GDP, followed by healthcare, at 11.4%, and primary industries, which contributed 8.1% to GDP. “Our diverse manufacturing sector lifts the region above national averages for employment. “Pretty much anyone who wants a job has one, and that is not a story we could previously have told, and it is a great story for our people. I’m feeling really positive about where we are going as an economy.”
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