Technology

The rapid growth and development of information technologies (IT) is creating great opportunities for tourism businesses. Despite the potential for IT to assist the New Zealand tourism industry, studies show that the rate of IT up-take among small firms is worryingly low.

Governments around the world are developing tourism strategies that embrace ICT as both a tool to enhance industry performance and a device to improve implementation of strategy components. This paper outlines the need to understand the local dimension of governance and policy making in the tourism and ICT arena. Strategies from two Councils in the Auckland Region of New Zealand are reported on – Rodney District Council and North Shore City.