Estimates, due out from Stats NZ on Friday, are expected to show Queenstown’s population has exceeded 30,000 people.

Queenstown will join a group of Large Urban Areas, like Gisborne, Whanganui, Upper Hutt, Nelson and Invercargill, that are commonly known as “cities”.

District mayor Glyn Lewers said Queenstown needs to front up and acknowledge the growth its facing.

“We probably will be the next city in the South Island, and it’s my own view that we will probably end up being the second city of the South Island,” Lewers said.

The district has already surpassed the 50,000 threshold needed to apply to the Local Government Commission for legal city status.

The Commission said it would need to be satisfied the district is a “distinct entity and a major centre of activity” that is “predominantly urban” before accepting an application.

“If the Commission considers that the application should be approved it must then refer the application to the Minister of Local Government for preparation of an Order in Council to give effect to the Commission’s decision,” the Commission said.

Tauranga’s council successfully applied for city status in 2004, but Whangārei, Rotorua, Gisborne, Hastings, New Plymouth and Whanganui’s councils still have district status.

While Stats NZ and council population projections vary, Lewers said the district will need to adjust to a much larger population.

“By 2050, we’re looking at about 120,000 residents on a peak day, and another 100,000 tourists. We could have about 250,000 people moving in and around our little district,” Lewers said.

Former finance minister Grant Robertson – who recently took over as Otago University vice chancellor – said the projected growth had prompted the university’s recent decision to expand its presence there.

He said the centre is expanding and diversifying well beyond the small tourist town it used to be.

“There’s absolutely no doubt Queenstown, Wānaka, Cromwell are growing very fast. There’s absolutely no doubt there’s massive opportunity here,” Robertson said.

Michael Sergel is an Auckland-based radio news director and senior journalist who has been covering business, politics and local government for more than a decade. He joined NZME in 2013.