3. The Review Process

• 3.1 Objective
• 3.2 Scope of the Review
  • In Scope
  • Out of Scope
• 3.3 Project Team
• 3.4 Review Tasks
  • 1. Consultation of Users and Providers
  • 2. Definition of the Tourism Information Set
  • 3. Identification of Key Issues
  • 4. Evaluation
  • 5. Recommendations
  • 6. Implementation Plan

3.1 Objective

The objective of the review was defined as:

To provide recommendations for improving the quality, utility and integration of the core tourism datasets in order to assist the Tourism Research Council New Zealand in its task of enhancing the overall quality and value of the core datasets.

Figure 2 shows the main components relating to the three facets of the objective. Each of these components was evaluated as part of the review.

Figure 2: Components of the Objective

3.2 Scope of the Review

The scope of the review can be defined as:

In Scope

• Existing core tourism datasets:
  • Commercial Accommodation Monitor
  • Domestic Travel Study
  • Forecasts
  • International Visitor Arrivals
  • International Visitor Survey
  • Tourism Satellite Account
• Identifying information gaps.

Out of Scope

• Academic research and other surveys
• Forecasting methodology - this is being reviewed separately
• Cost implications of recommendations
• Dissemination channels (as Harmoni is due to be implemented as part of a separate project)
• Operational aspects of the producers such as method of processing, processing system efficiency and cost effectiveness.

3.3 Project Team

The Project Team was established in February 2002 with the secondment of Jocelyn Young from Statistics New Zealand. Alistair Gray, from Statistics Research Associates Limited, was contracted to provide expert advice on survey methodology. Project support was provided by Mike Chan and Bruce Bassett from the Ministry of Tourism.

3.4 Review Tasks

The project tasks can be grouped into six main headings as shown below.

Figure 3: Review Project Tasks

1. Consultation of Users and Providers

The consultation phase helped the project team to:

• determine users' needs and identify any gaps between these needs and the data currently available;
• identify the preferred dissemination channels;
• determine the level of awareness of data available;
• collate concerns and issues raised by users and providers.

The consultation phase comprised three components:

1. Engagement of providers - Letters were sent to providers advising them of the review, requesting their input, and informing them of the opportunity they will have to provide feedback.

2. User Surveys - Users were asked to complete a questionnaire posted on the Ministry of Tourism website. Respondents to the initial survey were asked if they would like to participate in a more detailed follow-up survey. Key findings can be found in Section 5.1; the survey results are included in Appendix 4.

3. Key Stakeholders Discussion Forum - To complement the user survey, and to get more in-depth feedback, a one-day discussion forum was held for providers and selected expert users (users considered to have in-depth knowledge of the statistics and the surveys, and users who make extensive use of the data). The aim of this facilitated forum was to identify key issues with the individual datasets and with the integration of the datasets. The issues raised are summarised in Section 5.1 and listed in Appendix 3.

2. Definition of the Tourism Information Set

To provide a context to the review it was considered necessary to provide at least a notional long-term view of the desired information base for the tourism industry. Details of this information base, named the Tourism Information Set, can be found in Section 4.

3. Identification of Key Issues

Key issues were identified from the responses to the user surveys and the feedback obtained in the discussion forum. These key issues are noted in Section 5.1.

4. Evaluation

The evaluation phase included examination of the survey methodologies, and identifying possible causes of the key issues identified. Inconsistencies between the datasets were identified, and data management practices were also assessed.

In line with the review objectives, the key points for evaluation were:

The results of the evaluation can be found in Section 6.

5. Recommendations

Following evaluation of the survey methodologies and datasets, and the main issues, 96 recommendations for changes and enhancements were developed. Recommendations were assessed against the review objective and to ensure that they:

• enhance the consistency of the data and help achieve integration
• do not have detrimental effects to the time series of the data
• realise the full potential of the data
• support subsequent research and analysis
• align with the aims of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 and the Tourism Research and Development Strategy 2002
• align with the principles in the Statistics New Zealand Protocols for Official Statistics
• support the development of a tourism information set.

Each recommendation was assigned a ranking of short-term, medium-term or long-term.

Nineteen recommendations were identified as key recommendations based on an assessment of risk, the expected high return on investment, and the expected benefits in terms of quality and utility of data. These are the recommendations that should be given the highest priority.

6. Implementation Plan

Implementation will be undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism on advice from the Tourism Research Council New Zealand.

Section 7 of this report shows the sequence in which the recommendations should be implemented.