Who We Are and What We Do
Last updated:
September 2009
The Ministry works to maximise the benefits to New Zealand from the sustainable development of the tourism industry . It provides tourism policy advice to the Minister of Tourism, works with other government departments on key tourism policy issues and provides tourism research and statistics to the government and industry .
The Ministry of Tourism works to achieve implementation of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015. The strategy has as its vision, tourism being valued as the leading contributor to a sustainable New Zealand economy by 2015.
The outcomes from the NZTS 2015 are the basis for the Ministry’s ‘outputs’. These outcomes are:
- New Zealand delivers a world-class visitor experience.
- New Zealand’s tourism sector is prosperous and attracts ongoing investment.
- The tourism sector takes a leading role in protecting and enhancing the environment.
- The tourism sector and communities work together for mutual benefit.
Major outputs for the Ministry of Tourism include:
- Building and implementing policy programmes that contribute to the four NZTS 2015 outcomes above.
- The provision of research data and analysis to assist in public and private sector tourism decision making.
- Provision of advice on the Government’s interests as owner of Tourism New Zealand and the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute and on further land and property holdings.
The Ministry provides advice to government on Tourism New Zealand board appointments, roles and functions, and the overall contribution of the Crown Entity to the government's policy objectives. Tourism New Zealand is the Crown Entity tasked with marketing New Zealand to international visitors.
The Ministry of Tourism is semi-autonomous and sits within the wider Ministry of Economic Development. The Statement of Intent is available for download.
The Ministry is divided primarily into two teams – policy and research. The major projects within the policy team work programme are covered in the Our Work section.
The extensive research programme has its own stand alone tourism research website. An overview of the research team’s work programme can be found in the publication, Accessing New Zealand’s Tourism Data.
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