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Regional Tourism Organisations in New Zealand from 1980 to 2005: Process of Transition and Change by Anne Zahra A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosphy at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management University of Waikato 2006 Abstract This thesis is a historical case study tracing the establishment and evolution of Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) in New Zealand. It describes their role, structure and functions and the political processes that have influenced how they have operated and changed from 1980 to 2005. RTOs are examined in the context of government policies, local and national politics and tourism private and public sector relationships. RTOs were central to many of the key recommendations of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 (NZTS 2010) released in 2001. The NZTS 2010 attempted to address a range of tourism policy gaps created by a policy vacuum in the 1990s whereby the public and private tourism sectors focused mainly on international marketing. This strategy shaped government policy during this decade. The research findings show that although public and private sector institutional arrangements impacting on RTOs have changed, there remains, as in the past, no uniformity in their role, structure, functions and their future financial and political viability remains insecure. The NZTS 2010 raised destination management and its alignment with destination marketing as a major policy issue that needed to be addressed in the decade leading up to 2010 with RTOs having a pivotal role. A generic regional destination management model is presented. Structures and processes incorporated into this model include: a national destination management tourism policy; support for tourism by local government at the national level; a well defined destination management team; community collaboration; and tourism being integrated into the wider planning processes of local government. The model identified requisite building blocks to support regional destination management such as: the provision of staff and financial resources for regional tourism; the building of a high tourism profile in the community; the availability of statistics and research data at the regional level; local government planners acknowledging the impacts of tourism; and the existence of a legal mandate for tourism at the regional and/or local government level. When applying this model to the New Zealand context, it was found that a number of the structures and processes required for effective regional destination management were lacking, such as regional statistics and research data, staffing and financial resources for both RTOs and local government, the ability of council planners to understand i and integrate tourism into the wider planning processes and a legislative mandate for tourism. The thesis concluded that a vacuum remains in the alignment of destination marketing and management. The historical and political processes of RTO change were also examined in the context of chaos and complexity theory. Chaos and complexity theory provided a complementary and different means to view change. This thesis also presented the opportunity to reflect upon the research process which led to the adoption of a multi-paradigmatic and bricoleur research methodology. Further reflexivity and reflection towards the end of the research process articulated ontological and epistemological philosophical investigations that underlay the multi-paradigmatic approach. A model is presented emphasising that a multi-paradigmatic research approach rests on ultimate reality (metaphysics) which informs the ontology. The model then highlights that ontology precedes and directs epistemology and that both inform the multi-paradigmatic research framework. ii Acknowledgements Many people have helped me during this PhD adventure, and I am deeply indebted to them all including those not singled out in this acknowledgement page. I would like to especially acknowledge and thank Chris Ryan, my chief PhD supervisor who in the first place suggested that I might like to consider RTOs as a topic for my PhD investigation. It has been a great topic and a good knowledge base for future research. Chris was always available whenever I needed him and returned drafts very quickly. He also allowed me room to ‘move’ while guiding me to ensure that I reached my destination. Special thanks must also go to Frank Scimgeour and Tim Lockyer for their support in helping me combine full time teaching and my PhD research and for making available research funds for data collection. Both Tim Lockyer and Alison McIntosh were great mentors and I will be ever grateful for their advice and encouragement. I want to express my appreciation to the anonymous reviewers for the constructive feedback and suggestions in publishing aspects of the thesis in the following journals: Current Issues in Tourism, Anatolia and Tourism Management and in refereed conference papers at CAUTHE, NZTHRC, ATLAS and the Asia Pacific Forum for Graduate Students Research in Tourism. I have received outstanding support by both past and present New Zealand Tourism Industry personnel from both the public and private sector. A special thanks has to be made to Neil Plimmer, past General Manager of the New Zealand Tourism and Publicity Department and Tony Staniford, past Chief Executive of what is now called the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIANZ). They were very receptive and encouraging when I first approached them in 2002 and between the two provided a long list of further contacts to inform the research investigation. RTO CEOs and staff from both the North and South Island have been supportive and forthcoming with any information I required. Special thanks to Linda Kean, Jim Archibald, Jim Little, Greame Osborne, Paul Davis, Paul Yeo, Jan Hindson, Dominic Moran, Ian Bougen, John Rasmussen, Tim Cossar, Oscar Nathan and Chris Lamers for their time and views on RTOs. I am greatly indebted to The Ministry of Tourism, especially Andrea Schollmann, Bruce Bassett, Ray Salter, Katherine Lowe, Sharon Flood and Simon Douglas. I would like to thank iii Mike Chan and Chisana Archer for their kindness when I was working in the Ministry of Tourism Offices. I want thank to George Hickton, CEO of Tourism New Zealand, David Burt who has ‘seen it all’ having over twenty years of continuous employment under the NZTP, NZTD, NZTB and TNZ and Catherine Young, also from TNZ, for her encouragement. A special thanks to David Simmons for providing advice and agreeing to be interviewed, John Moriarty former Chief Executive of TIANZ and Geoff Burns, Chairman of TIANZ. I need to acknowledge the support from Local Government New Zealand, especially Angela Gore and Colin Drew. The Waikato Management School staff have been very supportive. Maria Fitzgerald and Leonie Pope were always available to help and steered me in the right direction. I would also like to thank Amanda Sircombe for her range of services. Thanks to all the members of the WMS computer support team. Special mention needs to be made of Monica Van Oostrom, for helping me put together this document, Darryl Fong for always being there and Cathy Horrocks for passing on her vast experience in knowledge management. Last but not least I want to thank family and friends for their self-sacrificing support over the years. Thanks to Ailish McKeown and Patricia Grant for guiding me through the philosophical aspects of this PhD. Kirstie McAllum for all her assistance and encouragement especially in the early stages of the writing, I do not think I would have got to the end without her support. Yishuang Eve Duan for going beyond the call of friendship to formatt one the final drafts under duress. Ana Tere for covering for me in my other responsibilities especially in the last six months of the thesis and my wonderful friends in Auckland: Bernie, Sarah and Beng, when I had to escape from Hamilton to ‘write’. iv Table of Contents Abstract................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements............................................................................................... iii Table of Contents .................................................................................................. v List of Tables ......................................................................................................... x List of Diagrams .................................................................................................... x List of Acronyms .................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1