MBIE's Regional Tourism Statistics & Tourism Sector Outlook

Date: 21 May 2014 Time: 12.15 pm

Vij and Rebecca will discuss recent improvements to MBIE’s tourism data suite that address priorities identified in the Tourism Domain Plan. They will discuss the use of administrative data—in this case, electronic card transactions—in the development of the Regional Tourism Indicators (RTIs) and its combination with other data sources to produce the Regional Tourism Estimates (RTEs). Following a brief discussion on methodology, Vij and Rebecca will demonstrate the use of both measures to provide detailed, regionally specific insight into tourist spending behaviour. The seminar will close with an overview of the Tourism forecasts, the process for which was substantially improved last year to incorporate industry feedback through the establishment of a technical committee. Subsequently, MBIE received positive feedback on the tourism forecasts. MBIE is continuing to use the same process for the 2014-2020 tourism forecasts, due to be released in August 2014.

Presenters:

Vij Kooyela joined MBIE in February 2013 from the Labour Federation. She has a Masters in Applied Statistics from Massey University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Statistics from Mumbai University. She has 11 years of experience in the New Zealand public sector and has worked mostly in quantitative research, data analysis and report writing roles. The areas that Vij has worked in are skills, productivity, labour market analysis, education, Maori economic development, and forecasting and modelling of social welfare benefits. In MBIE, she project managed the Regional Tourism Estimates project which was released on MBIE’s website in August 2013. Aside from that, Vij has worked on the development of the Tourism Forecasts and the Regional Economic Activity Report.

Rebecca Burson joined MBIE in February 2013. She has a PhD in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sociology from Victoria University of Wellington. Since joining MBIE, Rebecca has contributed to a variety of tourism products, including the International Visitor Survey and the Regional Tourism Indicators. Rebecca also worked on the 2013 Sector Report series and the Small Business Report, due for release in June this year.

For more information please email: tourism@vuw.ac.nz