Mr Walsh said the chamber wasn't against overseas workers taking jobs which New Zealanders hadn't been able to fill.
"They are possibly jobs that take a required skill set that we are not able to find locally and I guess if local businesses and local employers are able to bring people in to our regions [and] employ them, it helps our population growth, it helps our economy, so we wouldn't see it as being a negative.
"Obviously, we're all about local people getting local jobs but we also understand that local people don't always have the skills required for some of these jobs."
Mr Walsh said a multi-cultural community was beneficial for a region which was largely driven by tourism.
According to Immigration New Zealand, chef was the most common profession among those who had the visas approved in the Bay of Plenty, followed by forestry worker, then dairy cattle farmer. Figures showed 133 chefs had visas approved, with many coming from South Korea, Thailand and India.
Another 97 forestry workers had their visas approved with the majority coming from Fiji as well as 71 dairy cattle farmers, with many from India and the Philippines. Other professions approved in the year included whitewater rafting guide, jockey, paediatrician, fitness centre manager and swimming instructor.
Mr Walsh said a lot of seasonal fruit pickers were from overseas.
"Sadly, the fruit picking jobs are jobs that we just can't get locals to do a lot of the time so it easier to get them in internationally."
Immigration New Zealand figures show 1621 people arrived in the Bay of Plenty under the Recognised Seasonal Employers Scheme in the financial year to May 20.
All workers approved under the scheme were employed in planting, maintaining, harvesting, or packing crops in the horticulture or viticulture industries.