The survey analysis said local operators were “losing sleep” over global instability, rising energy and fuel costs, inflation and trying to find skilled staff.
Businesses were facing “near‑record” price hikes as costs continued to outpace revenue, with fewer customers and losses on existing contracts.
Many were absorbing those costs rather than passing them on, it said.
Businesses were freezing expansion plans, halting new capital investments and pulling back on intended staffing increases.
Perceptions of the economic outlook for New Zealand, Rotorua and businesses fell in the April 2026 Rotorua Business Pulse Survey. Graphic / Rotorua Business Pulse Survey
Dedicated questions about the fuel crisis revealed more than a third of respondents reported being highly or extremely exposed to fuel price fluctuations.
Profitability expectations dropped more than 50% from the October 2025 survey – the largest shift since the survey began in April 2022.
Confidence in business survival fell and nearly two-thirds of respondents expected general conditions to worsen over the next three months.
The also survey showed 82% of businesses used artificial intelligence (AI) across their business to save time, improve productivity, communicate better and support decision-making.
For Rotorua over the next year, respondents felt most positive about tourism recovery and event attraction, with business growth and development their highest priority for the city.
In a media release, Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell said the results reflected a challenging environment.
She said many in the business community were saying the city was “improving” and “full of potential”.
Rotorua Lakes Council would continue “doing everything we can to support resilience and unlock opportunities for growth”.
In the release, both RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson and Business Chamber chief executive Melanie Short said the results matched what local businesses had been telling them.
Rotorua businesses were resilient and “understand they are largely responsible for navigating this latest period of challenge”, Short said.
Wilson said businesses’ resilience was encouraging and they were choosing to focus on what they could control.
He noted positives from the survey in areas such as business strategy, organisational culture, productivity and supply chains.
Businesses were focused on sustainability and adopting tools like AI to work smarter.
“After five challenging years, Rotorua businesses are clearly drawing on what they have learned and continuing to make practical, future-focused decisions,” he said.
Fuel pressure bites
Forestry firm Kaingaroa Tipu chief operations officer Dean Witehira told the Rotorua Daily Post the uncertainty reflected in the survey showed economic conditions were likely to stay challenging in the near term, particularly with ongoing cost pressures.
“Rising input costs, particularly fuel, and global market uncertainty, coupled with a squeeze on log prices, have created ongoing operating pressures right across the value chain,” Witehira said.
Fuel costs continued to put “significant pressure” on its network.
He said the organisation’s outlook had become “more measured” since the end of 2025.
Its confidence in the local economy, however, was in line with the national picture – “cautious in the short term, but positive over the long term”.
This was given the “strength” of the forestry sector and its role in regional employment, Witehira said.
“Across everything we’re doing, our focus is on making practical, long-term decisions that support our people, our partners and the communities we operate in.”
The company recently announced investment of more than $1 million in infrastructure to support the growing electric fleet using its Kaingaroa Processing Plant.
Kaingaroa Tipu has installed an electric charger to service a growing electric fleet.
A company statement said it had installed an electric charger to service Rotorua Forest Haulage’s (RFH) fully electric loader and electric logging truck. A new electric loader was expected this month.
RFH Kaingaroa site manager Jay McLean said in Kaingaroa Tupu’s statement that having the new electric truck operating was exciting, “especially now with diesel prices the way they are”.
Kaingaroa Tipu general manager for sustainability Colin Maunder said the project was a practical step towards the company’s long-term goal of eliminating fossil fuels from its operations.
It was also about energy security in a time of global volatility in fuel supply and pricing.
“Over time, fossil fuels will become harder to access and more expensive.
“Investing in electrification now helps future-proof our operations and reduces that risk,” Maunder said.
Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.