Business confidence is flat according to the latest Tauranga Chamber of Commerce survey, but there are hopes the Rugby World Cup will kick off a recovery.

The new survey shows 53 per cent of business people surveyed expected their own businesses will improve over the next six months.

Chamber CEO Max Mason says the result is similar to the previous quarter, but a slight lift on six months ago.

The latest survey shows 37 per cent of respondents expect conditions in their business to stay the same but 10 per cent expect it would deteriorate.

Max says he is pleased more than half of all businesses are expecting an improvement given the generally tough economic conditions.

'Yes, conditions are still tough and most business people are having to grind it out, and are showing great courage and resilience. But things will improve as they always do.”

Max says the high currency against the US dollar was particularly challenging for exporters who were seeing profit disappear.

'I just think it's going to be a slow and steady recovery,” he says.

'At least it's more than half (who are optimists) and it's a good foundation for future growth.”

Max hopes the thousands of tourists coming to Tauranga over the RWC will be a springboard for the recovery.

The survey shows respondents have higher confidence in their owner businesses than the general economy (32 per cent believe the economy will improve over the next six months, while 51 per cent think it will not change).

'It seems quite inconsistent to have a big 21 per cent difference between their belief that conditions will improve in their own business compared to the wider New Zealand economy when the respondents collectively represent the wider economy.”

Max thinks the general negativity is simply a reflection of ongoing pessimism and believes the firms own expectations are more accurate as 'they have a greater knowledge of their own operations and markets”.