Tourism Domain Plan

Work plan for improving the Government's Tourism Dataset

The Ministry of Economic Development wants to make sure its tourism data meets the needs of the industry and researchers as well as Government.  Following a consultation process we have developed the Tourism Domain Plan.  This Plan sets out the overarching strategy for improving our set of tourism data and making it work better for everyone.

Tourism Data Domain Plan November 2011 [661 KB PDF]

Work plan - update

We are making big changes to the data set but it is essential there is continuity so that historical comparisons can still be made.  For that reason our changes are going to be implemented steadily over the next five years, with the dataset fully refreshed by 2017. 

The following is a brief update on the nine key streams of work:

1. Redeveloping our International Visitor information, including redesigning the International Visitor Survey and developing an education tourism series and cruise series.
   Work underway. New design to be trialled in September 2013 and a go live date of 1 July 2013.
    
2. Develop new Regional Indicators to provide more accurate and timely information for regional investment and planning purposes.
   Work underway. New data source has been identified and first output planned expected to be released at the end of 2012.
    
3. Introduce scenario planning as a forecasting method to bolster the forecasting process.
   Work underway. A request for proposals has been released and delivery of forecasts expected October 2012.
    
4. Provide more information on tourism businesses to gain an understanding of their growth, innovation, productivity and efficiency.
   Work begins July 2013.
    
5. Improve the range of short term indicators available for industry.
   Work begins October 2012.
    
6. Create a new research programme to make sure niche, subsector and specialist topic areas are covered by the ministry's research.
   Work delayed and will commence in mid 2012.
    
7. Improve the distribution of the dataset to ensure all interested stakeholders have ready and easy access to the latest information.
   Work begins July 2013.
    
8. Take advantage of developing technologies to access new data sources for research.
   Work begins July 2014.
    
9. Work on smaller parts of the dataset that don't naturally fit into major categories. These include the Tourism Industry Monitor and conference surveys.
   Work to review the conference survey is well underway.