New Home For Tourism Data – Tourism Evidence And Insights Centre

A new website for accessing tourism data, research and reports is now available, making it easier to access information about the tourism industry.

“The Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre is the new home for tourism data,” said Michael Webster, Manager Tourism Evidence and Insights, Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE).

The Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre (TEIC, https://teic.mbie.govt.nz) has been developed by MBIE in collaboration with representatives from the tourism industry, academia, and central and local government, in particular the Department of Conservation (DOC).

“Providing a central location for tourism data, reports and articles will make it easier for those in the industry, business, government and anyone interested in the wider tourism story to access material,” says Michael Webster.

A key feature of the TEIC is the Sustainable Tourism Explorer, an interactive hub for sharing tourism data and insights to help measure the impact of tourism on Aotearoa New Zealand.

Michael Webster says it’s the first time information about tourism’s relationship with the environment, economy, visitors, communities and regions is available in one place.

“Having information about the activities and impacts of tourism has long been a priority for the industry and MBIE.

“We worked collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders to identify what data they wanted and how to make it easy to use.

“We’re pleased and proud that we can offer this via the Sustainable Tourism Explorer.

“It uses the latest technology in data visualisation. It will feel very intuitive for users, with a diverse range of appealing graph styles, the ability to add notes to charts and download both images and data.”

While the TEIC website already has a wealth of data and research available, new information will be added as it becomes available, allowing for expanded content as the website evolves. The aspiration for the website is to make it a home for a wide range of data and research, not just government-produced content.

“There’s an opportunity for the tourism sector to consider how it collects, shares and invests in data that’s not currently available,” says Michael Webster.

“We are also working with central and local government agencies to explore ways to present their data in a tourism context.”

Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Chris Roberts says the new website will be welcomed by tourism operators around the country. TIA has long advocated for improved access to tourism insight.

“New Zealand tourism data and research is available from many different sources but can be hard to find and difficult to analyse. The Tourism Evidence and Insights Centre will support operators in making business decisions,” Mr Roberts says.

TIA will contribute links to any research it carries out and encourages others to do the same.

The TEIC and Sustainable Tourism Explorer are collaborative products. MBIE led the development and used targeted engagements to identify the industry’s information needs, including the 2018 Tourism Data Domain Plan, the 2019 Tourism

Information and Data Hui and the New Zealand Aotearoa Sustainable Tourism Dashboard workshop in early 2020.

MBIE’s Evidence and Insights team collects, analyses and publishes New Zealand tourism data, along with a range of useful tools and publications. You can read more on the Tourism research and data page.

Note:

The Tourism Evidence and Information Centre (TEIC) is the home to content related to tourism and sustainability.

At its landing page, the TEIC offers details about data releases and resources, where government agencies, industry and academia can contribute and have access to reports, insights, presentations and more.

The TEIC is also home to the Sustainable Tourism Explorer (STE), where users can visualise, interact and collect data. The STE uses the latest technology in data visualisation, which includes accessibility, multiple types of visualisation methods with quick and responsive interaction to support data exploration in an intuitive manner.

The STE also allows users to annotate charts, download graphs as images and download the underlying data as JSON or CSV files.

Google Analytics is in place to better understand what users need so the TEIC can adapt to the necessities of industry, academia and policy makers.

The data in the Sustainable Tourism Explorer comes from a range of sources and has been organised into 5 main themes, in alignment with the New Zealand Aotearoa Tourism strategy:

· Te Taiao - The environment

· Ngā Manuhiri O Te Ao, O Aotearoa Anō Hoki - International and domestic visitors

· Te Ōhanga - The economy

· Tātou o Aotearoa me ō tātou hapori - New Zealanders and our communities

· Ngā Rohe - Regions

Every measure and indicator used in the STE was selected through workshops with stakeholders. Based on the results of these workshops, the TEIC will allow industry, policy makers and academia to build the real non-stop-shop for all tourism related data and insights.

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