Provisional data provided by independent economic analysis company Infometrics shows the Thames-Coromandel district's economy grew by 1.8 per in the year to March 2016.

Tourism continued to be a major contributor to the economy, with guest nights climbing 7.8 per cent over the past year, while traffic flows also rose 8.8 per cent over the same period.

Tourism has once again played a major part in growing the Tames-Coromandel district's economy. Photo: Destination Coromandel

Thames-Coromandel District Council Economic Development manager Ben Day says not only have more Kiwis been getting out and about, but international visitor numbers are rising rapidly.

'To put things in perspective, there were 11 per cent more international flights arriving in the March quarter compared to a year earlier and we expect the tourism sector to enjoy strong trade throughout the winter months,” he explains.

'What these tourism figures don't reflect is the use of properties being listed on sites like Bookabach, Bachcare and Air B and B as holiday accommodation, which is probably a significant contributor to our local economy.

'That's because this sector isn't recognised or recorded in the Infometrics data as commercial operations.”

Retail spending on the Coromandel is also up due to higher visitor numbers, a rising population, and an increasing number of house sales.

According to data from Marketview, retail sales on electronic cards over the March 2016 year was up 5.4 per cent on the previous year, compared with 2.8 per cent growth nationally.

Both car and commercial vehicle registrations are also rising, adds Ben.

'What we are seeing is where there is land stock, there is activity and it's great to hear that this activity is occurring across the Coromandel.”

Some parts of the district's primary sector have also seen better export prices of late. According to ANZ's Commodity Price Index seafood exports in the March quarter averaged 7.5 per cent above its level from a year earlier, while forestry prices tracked 3.4 per cent higher over the same period.

But dairy farmers are facing a third consecutive season of losses, which will continue to increase their reliance on debt financing to tide them over.

The annual average unemployment rate in Thames-Coromandel District was 4.4 per cent in March 2016, down from 4.8 per cent the previous year.

The unemployment rate in Thames-Coromandel District was lower than in New Zealand, where the unemployment rate averaged 5.7 per cent over the year to March.

To read the full report visit the Thames-Coromandel District Council's website at: http://www.tcdc.govt.nz/economicdata