Kristin Dunne, Tourism Bay of Plenty's head of marketing, said tourism jobs made up 10 per cent of the jobs in Tauranga and the Western Bay.
Tourism contributed $510 million to the Tauranga and Western Bay economy last year, 10 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP).
"It's a hugely important industry here in the Bay, 10 per cent of GDP is a lot of money. The exciting thing is there's such huge potential left," Ms Dunne said, adding Tourism Bay of Plenty was ranked seventh in New Zealand's regional tourism bodies and the organisation's vision was to be ranked in the top five in 10 years time.
"That would mean we would need to grow from $510 million to $630 million," she said.
A key aspect to growing tourism in Tauranga was bringing a major hotel chain to the city.
"We need an international brand with at least 160 rooms. We've got great accommodation here in holiday parks, apartments and boutiques but nothing really to service big tour groups."
Ms Dunne said the Western Bay's tourist market was made up of 75 per cent domestic visitors and 25 per cent international tourists.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dave Burnett said tourism was an important component of the Tauranga economy, providing employment across many industry sectors including airline, accommodation, hospitality and transportation.
The number of people who stayed with friends and family also had a big impact on the tourism sector.
Mr Burnett said there was a lot being done to lift the tourism sector in the Bay, but more export-ready businesses were needed to meet the tourism demand.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said the visitor industry had always been important to Tauranga.
He did not want to see much change to the number of Tauranga people employed by the tourism sector as he preferred to see balance in the market.
"We need to make sure we have a broad range of businesses and industries to employ people and don't just rely on one sector because if that industry slows for any reason, that's bad for the economy."
Mr Crosby said there was a need for more larger scale attractions to the Tauranga area and hoped there would be more of these in future.
IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTOR: In Tauranga, 8.6 per cent of jobs are supported by tourism, which works out to about one in 12 jobs.
Tourism-related jobs in the Western Bay of Plenty
Western Bay District
1749 tourism-related full-time equivalent jobs
14,125 total jobs in area
12.4 per cent
Tauranga City
4379 tourism-related full-time equivalent jobs
50,784 total jobs in area
8.6 per cent
Combined Tauranga/Western Bay visitor spend (2013)
$510 million, 10 per cent of GDP
Whole Bay of Plenty: $1.13 billion, 11 per cent of GDP. - Tourism Industry Association,Tourism Bay of Plenty
