Pacific Islands

On 24 May 2007, NZTRI and AUT signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Niue. The goal of the MoUwas to establish a programme of research for tourism in order to develop a more sustainable tourism industry in Niue and to provide an effective research development environment for graduate students.

Activities in Niue included:

The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is engaging various partners in a series of regional workshops aimed at capacity building for indigenous communities to support the sustainable use of biodiversity in tourism in five bio-geographical regions (the Arctic, islands, dry lands and deserts, forest-basins and mountains), through bolstering their web-based capacities as tourism operators.

A programme of research with PITIC that is designed to get a clearer picture of visitor perceptions of the Pacific and visitor expenditure. This research focuses on Vanuatu/Niue as pilot case studies. This study will also generate tools and resources to enable other nations to conduct cost-effective research of a similar nature. A major aim is the creation of a suite of online resources that can be utilised by nations around the region in conducting research on New Zealand and other markets.

Visitor Departure Survey for the Cook Islands Tourism Corporation. The survey ran an online on www.cook-islands.com from November 2005 to January 2007.

This research is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the characteristics of visitors to the Cook Islands including their expectations and expenditure. An online visitor departure survey was developed which over time could serve as a self-monitoring ‘barometer’ for the industry.