Bay of Plenty Region

Bay of Plenty's biggest towns are Tauranga (also covered as its own Navaroa location), Rotorua, Whakatāne and Te Puke, but the regional economy is genuinely anchored by two things: the Port of Tauranga and kiwifruit. The region grows around 80% of New Zealand's kiwifruit, and horticulture exports (kiwifruit and berries especially) reached $2.65 billion in 2025. The Port of Tauranga itself handles 48% of NZ's containerised exports -- including 70% of dairy exports, 65% of red meat exports and 90% of kiwifruit exports -- so a huge share of the country's export logistics physically runs through this one region.

That's translated into real, measurable growth: regional exports hit $7.56 billion in 2025 (up 16.9% on the year before), and the number of registered businesses has grown 62.5% since 2000 to over 43,000. Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty have ranked among the top three areas in New Zealand for economic growth.

Rotorua and Whakatāne sit further inland and have a different character and pace to coastal Tauranga/Te Puke -- geothermal tourism and forestry matter more there than the port-and-horticulture economy that dominates the coast.