Summary of feedback from Terms of Reference public consultation

Background

The Tourism Data Leadership Group (TDLG) was established in May 2022 and initially had a Terms of Reference (TOR) covering a twelve-month period. It has been agreed by MBIE and the TDLG and noted by the Minister of Tourism that an extension of the TDLG is required and a revised TOR has been produced by MBIE to take into account the next stage of the TDLG.

Timing

The revised TOR were posted on the MBIE website on 8 March 2023. Emails were sent to those on the MBIE Tourism Data Users group to inform them of the new content. The consultation period was open for 7 days and closed on the 15 March 2023.

Read further details about the consultation and view the consultation documents

Responses

A total of 6 responses were received via the MBIE website on the revised TOR. Responses were from individuals, companies and RTOs.

Overall, the responses were positive and appreciative of the opportunity to provide feedback. The main themes tendered were:

• There was support for the revised TOR because this allowed for a continuation of the work to investigate new data sets and insights for the long-term betterment of the NZ tourism sector.
• A recommendation was made to change the TDLG line of Ministerial interaction back to the position where the TDLG will make recommendations to the Minister of Tourism for improvements to the tourism data system.
• The appointment committee should consider including research academic with a strong background in tourism statistics. Consideration should also be given to someone who has a future focus on technical aspects covering AI in data collection.
• It was considered important that the TDLG consider the domestic tourism data set using credit card data or electronic point of sale collection of data.
• The question was presented, “Is the TDLG an independent body or is it a body of independent individuals? It is not clear if the TDLG can function independently of MBIE, or even whether or not it should function independently of MBIE.” MBIE should consider the nuances of this proposition.
• It was deemed important to ensure that any new data sets do not just focus on economic measures, but include social, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism, both positive and negative.
• The topic of addressing the tough issues was raised around the environmental costs of tourism. In particular, the aviation and transport emissions must be considered in any cost benefit analysis of NZ tourism. The tough tourism data issues should not be avoided.
• The revised TOR was deemed to be a logical way to allow the TDLG to become more operational and implement aspects of their report.
• The two-year tenure was endorsed as a way to ensure continuity of the collective knowledge and experience of the group and projects.
• There is a keen expectation from industry to see what the proposed outputs of the TDLG will be. There is a desire that regional level and destination management metrics will be included.
• Consideration should be given to paying the TDLG members a nominal fee rather than suggesting they provide their time for free.
• The question was presented that does the TOR need to shift from ‘tourism’ sector to ‘visitor’ sector to reflect the need for a an equal bi-focus on both international and domestic metrics?
• The point was made, where is Tourism NZ’s involvement in the TDLG?
• TDLG should consider having a tourism conservationist expert as a member.