National Tourism Organisations—Politics, Functions and Form: A New Zealand Case Study

ABSTRACT

National Tourist Organisations (NTOs) are an important part of a nation's tourism industry, yet there has been comparatively little research on their functions, structure and the political processes that influence how they operate and change. This paper is a case study documenting changes of New Zealand's NTO over a twenty year period. The paper focuses on some of the key players and the political processes that led to changes in the functions of the NTO and the ramifications this had on the tourism industry. The paper indicates that discussion of tourism strategies without reference to wider concerns of a political nature can at best only remain an incomplete analysis. The question is also raised: Why has not more research been done in this area?

Keywords:

• National tourist organization
• New Zealand
• political processes
• policy
• politics
• history