Our View: City gets value from travel spending | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

It's pretty hard to argue against a multimillion-dollar boost to the local economy.

It came at a cost of some hundreds of thousands of dollars but seems to be a pretty good return.

Hundreds of overseas students now attend Rotorua's Waiariki Institute of Technology, a number growing every year as more overseas markets are tapped. Tapping those markets comes at a cost, particularly given the cost of travelling pretty much anywhere from New Zealand.

Institute chief executive Pim Borren was included on a recently revealed list of credit card-spending New Zealand public sector chief executives with a total of $77,359 in travel spent on his card in the past two years. It was part of a total travel spend of $350,000 by Waiariki staff during that period.

Revenue coming in to the institute from international students is now more than $5 million but the boost to the local economy is even more than that.

The institute's international sector has grown from 70 fulltime equivalent students to more than 400 and revenue has increased from less than $1 million to the current level.

As Mr Borren pointed out to The Daily Post this week, the return gained from what has been spent amounts to "a wonderful success story" for the institute.

Like our primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions have to generate revenue to enable them to offer the courses people expect of them and there is a limited pot of money available from government sources.

Overseas markets are providing that extra revenue for Waiariki.

Credit card spending figures are often a bit misleading - as is surely the case with Mr Borren and his staff at Waiariki - and when put into context, can actually amount to money well spent if one looks at what has been gained as a result.

Waiariki's travels brought in $5 million in course fees from overseas students plus whatever these students spend in our community on accommodation, food, general living expenses and entertainment.

That's got to be money well spent.

 

http://www.rotoruadailypost.co.nz/local/news/credit-card-spending-pays-off-for-waiariki/3919729/