Part of the UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism
The Waikato Monitoring Centre is part of the UNWTO International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO); a network of tourism observatories monitoring the economic, environmental and social impact of the tourism at destination level.
The initiative is based on UNWTO’s long-standing commitment to support sustainable and resilient growth of the sector through measurement and monitoring, fostering the evidence-based management of tourism.
VISION
Nurturing a dynamic network of partners that strive together towards creating healthy places for tourists and the host communities, leaving resilient destinations for future generations.
INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION
The University of Waikato's tourism programme has been continually well ranked globally by the Shanghai Rankings and the QS World University Subject Rankings. It has also been recognised by the New Zealand PBRF (Performance Based Research Fund).
The INSTO Waikato programme is a member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization's International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories since 2017 and its activities centre on the seaside resort of Raglan. Since this period we have examined visitor and resident perceptions of Raglan, examined programmes of waste management and looked at issues of the impact of tourism and the peer-to-peer home rental services on the renting of homes in Raglan. In 2019 a first report on Waitomo was also authored. The programme is incorporated into the teaching curriculum of the tourism major of the Bachelor degrees at the University of Waikato Management School.
The programme's research director is Professor Chris Ryan, who was named as one of the world's top 1% of researchers in a PLoS One survey of global researchers.
We are proud to be associated with the tourism industry in the Waikato region, as well as having close links with tourism stakeholders in New Zealand and China.