Towards a tourism research strategy for New Zealand

The paper reviews the stages that led to the publication of a Tourism Resea rch Strategy for New Zealand in August 1998 by a consortium composed of a G overnment Office, a private company (Air New Zealand) and other tourism org anisations. It discusses some of the history behind this document, describe s the aims identified within it, and compares the documentation primarily w ith recent moves in Australia, but also with some brief mention of Canada. The paper comments on the tensions that coexist with such documentation and concludes that it represents an interim stage as government seeks to encou rage the industry to play a larger role in funding its own market research. It also Very briefly notes that such research, at this stage, still implie s a positivistic approach to the exclusion of alternative methods. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.