Our research
AUT’s Pacific Tourism Futures Research Group advances sustainable tourism in the Pacific by delivering rigorous, evidence-based intelligence that addresses the region’s diverse priorities.
Impactful projects
- International Visitor Surveys (IVS) – core data collection in each destination, capturing visitor satisfaction, spending and experience
- Tourism Industry Surveys – providing a business perspective on tourism performance and operational challenges
- Community Attitudes Surveys – national-level assessments of how communities perceive and value tourism
- Tourism Decision Support Systems – developing integrated tools that combine visitor, industry and community data for informed decision-making
Our current research areas
- Tourism economics: measuring visitor expenditure patterns and their economic contributions
- Visitor experience and satisfaction: monitoring perceptions, satisfaction levels and travel behaviours
- Industry performance: assessing tourism business performance and resilience through industry surveys
- Community perspectives: evaluating community awareness, attitudes and aspirations related to tourism
- Tourism decision support systems: integrating diverse data sources to support strategic planning and policy development
Pacific Tourism Data Initiative
The Pacific Tourism Data Initiative (PTDI) is the flagship programme of our research group. It has delivered coordinated, long-term tourism data programmes across Pacific nations, enabling evidence-based decision-making for governments, industry and communities.
Postgraduate students
The AUT Pacific Tourism Futures Research Group actively supports postgraduate research that advances scholarship and practice in Pacific tourism contexts. We welcome enquiries from prospective master’s degree and doctoral students with interests in tourism, hospitality and events in the Pacific.
Contact us
For general enquiries contact:
chloe.kim@aut.ac.nz