Towards a tourism research strategy for New Zealand

Abstract

The paper reviews the stages that led to the publication of a Tourism Research Strategy for New Zealand in August 1998 by a consortium composed of a Government Office, a private company (Air New Zealand) and other tourism organisations. It discusses some of the history behind this document, describes the aims identified within it, and compares the documentation primarily with recent moves in Australia, but also with some brief mention of Canada. The paper comments on the tensions that coexist with such documentation and concludes that it represents an interim stage as government seeks to encourage the industry to play a larger role in funding its own market research. It also very briefly notes that such research, at this stage, still implies a positivistic approach to the exclusion of alternative methods.