UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF TRACKING TECHNOLOGY FOR CO-CREATED TOURISM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT: INSIGHTS FROM THE TOURISM TRACER TASMANIA PROJECT

Tourism industries and governments have typically been slow to embrace technology and data analytics as planning and development tools. The Tourism Tracer team in Tasmania, Australia, used technology to find out where tourists go in Tasmania and collect other information about them. The team collaborated with stakeholders on project design, including survey questions, recruitment design, Dashboard features and functionalities, and reporting. An app collected locational and survey data from approximately 1000 tourists. This data was disseminated back to the community on the Tourism Tracer Tasmania Dashboard. Further specific data analytics were sought for infrastructure planning, road safety planning, and a better understanding of conversion and dispersal. With clear benefits flowing to many stakeholders, platforms such as Tourism Tracer should be regarded as key infrastructure which deliver “public goods” to the tourism industry and wider community. While the values of such technologies are widely recognised, governance and funding issues remain.