Bay of Plenty of less than $20,000, compared with 43.2% of people nationally. Unemployment was at 6.1% of people 15 years or older, compared with 5.1% nationally. The Bay of Plenty is a popular holiday destination due to the warm and sunny summer climate and public beaches. The Bay of Plenty received over 645,000 tourists in 2003, equivalent to one in three visitors to New Zealand coming to the region. Rotorua is a popular destination for international visitors, in particular the surrounding geothermal areas and Māori cultural centres. Tauranga is a popular domestic tourism destination, and also becoming popular internationally. Whale watching has
Bay of Plenty (New Zealand electorate) each review. For the 2008 election, the eastern boundary moved far westwards to the eastern fringe of Te Puke, in the process abandoning sections of the central coast to the Rotorua and East Coast seats. Bay of Plenty was created for the change to the mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation voting system; it was carved out of parts of the old seats of Kaimai, Tarawera and Eastern Bay of Plenty. Its original incarnation was based mostly around Whakatane and Opotiki districts, with the remaining population coming from Te Puke and parts of greater Tauranga. Bay of Plenty has been a safe