Classifications and Definitions

Last updated: May 2008

Domestic Travel Survey Data is recorded using particular groupings (classifications) and terms. This section provides a list of those classifications and definitions to aid you in interpreting the data.

Classifications

This section provides information on the groupings or classifications that are used in the Domestic Travel Survey, including:

Geographical classifications
Accommodation classifications
Activities/Attractions classifications
Transport classifications
Reasons for travelling and not travelling classifications
Visitor characteristic/demographic classifications

Classifications have been reviewed and enhanced as part of an alignment process, with changes will be introduced in October 2005. This process was driven by the Review of Core Tourism Datasets (2002) and will increase the ability to aggregate data from the Domestic Travel Survey with the International Visitor Survey to produce 'all of tourism' statistics.

Geographical Classifications

NZ Region of Origin / Destination Classifications

Whangarei	Hastings
Other Northland	Other Hawkes Bay
Greater Auckland	Wellington
Other Auckland	Masterton
Hamilton	Other Wellington
Other Waikato	Nelson
Tauranga	Blenheim
Rotorua	Other Nelson-Marlborough
Other Bay of Plenty	Westport
Gisborne	Greymouth
Other Gisborne	Hokitika
Levin	Christchurch
Palmerston North	Timaru
Wanganui	Other Canterbury
Other Central	Dunedin
New Plymouth	Other Otago
Other Taranaki	Invercargill
Napier	Other Southland

Top

Accommodation Classifications

Private home of a friend or relative	In transit/train/ferry/bus/coach
Private bach/crib or own or friend or relative	Free camping
Rented accommodation/shared flat	Free campervanning
Rented bach/crib	Pub
Backpacker/hostel/budget	Car
Tent site in a camping ground/holiday park	Other (specify)
Caravan site/campervan in a camping ground/holiday park	Don't know
Cabin/tourist flat in a camping ground/holiday park	Naval base/military accommodation
Motel - no restaurant	Marae
Motel - with restaurant	Hospital
Mid range hotel/motor lodge	School/church camp
Luxury lodge/retreat	Recreational hall
Top class NZ hotel	Trust house
"Tourist" homestay/B&B/Farmstay	School/university
"Student" homestay/private boarding/university hostel/school	Work accommodation
Time share/apartment	Club accommodation
National Park/DoC Hut/tent site	Conference centre
Yacht/boat	Convent/church accommodation
Cruise ship	Outdoor

Top

Activities/Attractions Classifications

Visit friends/relatives	Food/drink/refreshments
Dined at cafe/restaurant	Other (specify)
Bar/nightclub	Don't know
Shopping	Nothing
Scenic flight	Business/work
Scenic drive	Attend public event/sports event
Scenic boat cruise	Huka Falls
Short bush walk, > half a day	Family wedding/funeral/party
Walk in bush less than 1 day	Fuel stop
Tramping	Picnic
Swimming	Luge
Sat on beach	Conference/meeting
Sightseeing	House hunting
Non specific walk	Participated in sports/club meet
Day trips	Looked at local sights/monuments
Cinema/movie	Franz Josef Glacier/Glaciers
Live theatre or concert	Amusement Park/Arcade/Mini golf
Museum or Art Gallery	Motor cross
Hot pools	Kingston Flyer
Geothermal	Relaxed/did nothing/TV/video
Glow worm caves	Buried village
Gondola ride	Baby sitting/home jobs/domestic
Casino	Job interview
Maori cultural performance/experience	Cable car ride
Historic site	Parliament buildings
Farm show/activity	Exhibitions/fairs
Botanical gardens/gardens	Playground/park
Whale watching	Used Visitor information centre
Dolphins swimming/watching	Training/educational
Zoo/wildlife/marine park	Personal business bank etc
Other wildlife in natural setting	4WD/off-road motor biking
Golf	Graduation ceremony
Off road mountain biking	Tram/train ride/double bus
Cycline	Ice skating
Mountain/rock climbing/caving	Rodeo
Snow-skiing/snowboarding	Church
Heli-skiing	Parade - xmas etc
Fishing	Gold panning/mining
Rafting	Visit grave
Kayaking	Beach walk/games
Jetboating	School/church camp
Sailing	Reunion
Other water sports	Pick someone up/drop them off
Vineyeard visit/wine trail	Airport
Air sports	Orienteering
Bungy jumping	Refused
Horse riding	Visit nature reserve
Kelly Tarltons - Akld	Pancake rocks
Rainbow's End - Akld	See snow/play
Sky Tower - Akld	America's Cup
Te Papa - Wgtn	Photography/writing
Antarctic Centre - Chch	Ball/dance
Hunting/shooting	New Years / Xmas celebrations

Top

Transport Classifications

Domestic air	Hitchhiking
Private car/van	Cycling
Rental car/van	Motorbike
Company car/van	Other (specify)
Rental campervan	Don't know
Private campervan	Truck
Train	Walked
Scheduled coach between points	Helicopter
Coach tour/tour coach	School bus/private bus
Backpacker bus	Private plane
Commerical bus/ferry	Rental boat
Inter island ferry	Air ambulance
Yacht/private boat	Army bus/truck/plane
Cruise ship	Horse
Taxi/limosine/car tour

Top

Reason for Travelling Classifications

For business/your employer (excluding conferences)	Visit grave
Conference	Drop someone off
For a holiday	Pick up/buy car/vehicle
To visit friends	Shifting house
To visit relatives	Dine out/pub
To play/be associated with sports	Hot pools/swim recreational
Attend concert/sports event	Zoo/museum visit
For a drive/to get out	Beach
Wedding/funeral/family occasion	Graduation
Shopping	Casino
Other (specify)	Refused
None	Vineyard
Don't know	Church/religious
Work experience	Honeymoon
Babysit/mind family	Xmas, Easter, etc
Health reasons	Was a prize/gift
Job interview	Fishing
Reunion	Camping
Club meeting/outing	Maintenance, bach/holiday home
Show visitors around	Party/work do
School/education trip/camp	Walk/tramp
Sightseeing	Picnic/cafe/meal
Business - lawyer, bank etc	Hunting
Pick up someone	Skiing/snowboarding
Dropping off vehicle	Movies
Taking someone to airport	Sailing/boating
Househunting	Surfing
America's Cup Village

Top

Reasons For Not Travelling Classifications

Had no reason to	Too busy - school, etc
No money/too expensive	Going away soon
Too busy at work	Has travelled less than 40kms
No time - family	Too busy/not specified
Too old	Nowhere to go
No transport	Don't go during school holidays
Illness/health	Traffic
Do not want to	No one to go with
Other (specify)	Busy at house/building/renovating
Don't know	Had visitors
Already had trips	Live by the beach/park
Overseas	Busy time of year
Weather	Prefer home (Xmas, Easter etc)
Too busy - sport etc	Cheaper/prefer holiday overseas

Top

Visitor Characteristics/Demographics Classifications

Below are the listings of classifications for the various visitor demographic questions that are present in the Domestic Travel Survey. These listings include:

Gender of respondent
Age of respondent
Income grouping of respondent
Ethnicity of respondent
Respondent's living/home environment
Type of travelling companions
Number of travelling companions

Gender of Respondent

Male
Female

Age of Respondent

15-24
25-34
35-44
45-54
55-69
70+

Income Grouping of Respondent

Not more than $20,000
$20,001-$30,000
$30,001-$40,000
$40,001-$50,000
$50,001-$70,000
$70,001-$100,000
$100,001+
Don't know
Refused

Ethnicity of Respondent

NZ Maori	Asian
NZ European or Pakeha	Pacific Island (other)
British or European	Australian
Samoan	Middle Eastern
Cook Island Maori	South African
Tongan	North American
Niuean	African
Chinese	South American
Indian	New Zealander
Other (specify)	European
Refused

Living/Home Environment of Respondent

Single person household/live alone

Couple only, no children

Couple only, children have left home

Two parent family/with children at home

Single parent family with children at home

Multi family household

Non-family/flatting household

Other

Don't know/Refused

Travelling Companions of Respondent

Partner/spouse

One other friend

Family/whanau

Friends

Business associates

Special interest groups (team mates)

Other (specify)

Don't know/refused

School group

Hitch-hiker/stranger

Bus/coach tour passengers

Top

Definitions

This section provides definitions for the key words and concepts used in the Domestic Travel Survey.

Domestic Visitor
Persons residing in a country, who travel to a place within that country outside their usual environment for a period not exceeding 12 months, and whose main purpose of visit is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited

Resident in a country
A person is considered to be a resident in a country if the person has lived for most of the past year (12 months) in that country, or has lived in that country for a shorter period and intends to return within 12 months to live in that country.

Overnight Trip
An overnight trip is defined as a trip made in New Zealand, but outside the area in which the respondent usually lives or works day-to-day, which involves a minimum of one night away from home.

Data was collected on trips from which the respondent had returned in the last four weeks, which were less than 12 months long. Each overnight trip is presented with a Main Destination.

The Main Destination is either a) where the most nights were spent on the trip or b) the furthest overnight location from the origin of the trip.

For example, a person who stayed a night in the Ruapehu area on the way to Hawke's Bay for 5 nights would be recorded as having one Overnight Trip to Hawke's Bay.

Overnight Visit
An overnight visit is defined as a location where one or more night was spent on an overnight trip. Overnight Visit data is presented showing All Destinations stayed.

All Destination data includes every place where the visitor spent one or more night on their trip. For example, a person who stayed a night in the Ruapehu area on the way to Hawke's Bay for 5 nights would be recorded as having one overnight visit to Ruapehu and one overnight visit to Hawke's Bay.

Person Nights (Nights)
Person nights, or nights, refers to the number of nights spent away from home on an overnight trip. One person spending four nights away from home generates four person nights.

Day Trip
A day trip is defined as a trip made within one day, outside the area in which the respondent usually lives or works day to day, involving travel of at least 40km one way from home, or travel by aeroplane or ferry service.

Data was collected on day trips made within the last seven days. Each day trip is presented with a Main Destination. The Main Destination is the furthest location visited from the origin of the trip.

For example, a person who visited Kapiti for an hour or more on the way to Wellington would be recorded as having one Day Trip to Wellington.

Day Visit
A day visit is defined as a place where one or more hour was spent during travel outside of the usual environment.

Each day visit is presented with All Destinations. All Destination data includes every place where the visitor spent one or more hours on their day trip.

For example, a person who visited Kapiti for an hour or more on the way to Wellington would be recorded as having one Day Visit to Kapiti and one day visit to Wellington.

Travel Sector
For overnight trips, a travel sector is defined as travel between two overnight stops.

This includes travel from home to the first overnight stop and travel from the last overnight stop to home.

For day trips, a travel sector is defined as travel between stops of at least an hour in duration, or travel between the origin and the main destination.

All Places Stayed
All places stayed refers to all places in which the traveller spends a night. A four night trip by an individual from Auckland to Taupo in which one night is spent in Hamilton and three in Taupo comprises:

one overnight trip.
four person nights (one in Hamilton, three in Taupo).
three travel sectors (Auckland-Hamilton, Hamilton-Taupo, Taupo-Auckland).
one main destination (Taupo).
two places stayed (Hamilton, Taupo).

ˆ Back to top