Introduction to the NZTHRC 2010 Special Issue

Abstract

In November 2010, the 9th New Zealand Tourism and Hospitality Research Conference (NZTHRC) was convened in Auckland, New Zealand. NZTHRC was first held at Massey University, Palmerston North in 1994. Since its inception, the University of Otago (1996 and 2006) and Lincoln University (1998 and 2008) have each hosted the conference twice, and Victoria University of Wellington (2004) and Waiariki Polytechnic Institute (2002) have hosted once each. AUT University first hosted the NZTHRC in 2000 and for the second time in 2010. The NZTHRC 2010 conference was a joint effort and the result of a close partnership between the School of Hospitality and Tourism and the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute at AUT University. The NZTHRC has been and will continue to be dependent on the willingness of institutions and, in particular, individuals within those institutions, to organize, promote, and host this important event. The conference is not “owned” by any specific organization, but rather continues by an informal arrangement and commitment to rotate around the various tertiary education institutions that have significant tourism and hospitality higher education and research activities. For the 2010 conference, the local organizing committee made an early decision around the guiding philosophy that would influence the direction of the research presented. It was felt that one of the most important contributions the conference