Bay of Plenty local Māori traditions, the Bay of Plenty was the landing point of several migration canoes that brought Māori settlers to New Zealand. These include the "Mataatua", "Nukutere", "Tākitimu", "Arawa" and "Tainui" canoes. Many of the descendent iwi maintain their traditional homelands ("rohe") in the region, including Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāi Tai, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa ki Kawerau, Te Arawa, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Ranginui and Ngāti Pūkenga. Early Māori settlement gave rise to many of the town and city names used today. The first recorded European contact came when James Cook sailed through the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty is emerging as a major regional source of electricity. Tourism is the other notable industry, accounting for 15% of the region's GDP from March 2000 to 2004. Overall economic growth in the Bay of Plenty averaged 2.1% between March 2000 and 2004, compared with the national rate of 3.5%, although per capita real GDP growth in the five years to March 2003 matched the national growth rate at an averaged 2.3%. In the 2006 Census, the median annual income was $22,600, below the national median of $24,400. Further, 45.4% of people aged 15 years or older earned an annual income