Emily Trent
Emily specialises in the project management of tourism research programmes. She currently manages the International Visitor Survey, the Convention Activity Survey and the Convention Delegate Survey on behalf of Ministry of Economic Development. In addition to this Emily manages the primary data collection processes for major event evaluations. Recent projects she has worked on include World Rowing Championships 2011, Heineken Open & ASB Classic 2010, Louis Vuitton Pacific Series 2010, Adidas Auckland Marathon 2009, and Air NZ Fashion Week 2009. Emily has expertise in management of field staff, and she currently manages the field teams at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch airports, along with Covec’s event evaluation field staff. Emily’s work is marked by a high level of attention to detail, emphasis on good communication, and excellent problem-solving skills. Emily has an undergraduate degree in Economics (cum laude) from Claremont McKenna College and a Masters in Business Administration from Claremont Graduation University (both in Los Angeles).
Contact Details
Expertise
Recent Work
Design & management of the Convention Delegate Survey
The Convention Delegate Survey (CDS) is a continuous online survey of around 2,000 convention delegates each year distributed through professional conference organisers. This programme measures the expenditure and travel patterns of local, domestic and international convention delegates in New Zealand and is used to estimate the economic contribution of multi-day conventions to the New Zealand economy. The CDS weighting methodology uses population estimates from the CAS combined with visitor arrival data from the IVA (Statistics New Zealand).
Design & management of the Tourism Industry Monitor
The Tourism Industry Monitor (TIM) is a quarterly online survey of around 500 tourism businesses across New Zealand commissioned by MED. This programme is the main source of historical and forward-looking performance-based information for the tourism industry, and is used to produce the tourism confidence index.
Economic impact of Gold Coast Airport
The purpose of this research was to establish the contribution Gold Coast Airport makes to Gross State Product (GSP) in Queensland and New South Wales. The economic footprint of the airport was estimated based on a financial survey of more than 50 businesses operating within the airport precinct. State-level multipliers were used to assess the indirect & induced impacts.
Economic impact of World Rowing Championships 2010
The purpose of this project was to estimate the regional and national economic impact of the World Rowing Championships. The analysis was informed by the results of an online survey of spectators and media, discussions with team representatives, and a detailed analysis of the event budget. Covec undertook all aspects of this project including the field research, online surveying, economic analysis and presentation of results.
Evaluation of Volvo Ocean Race 2012
The purpose of this project was to estimate the economic impact of hosting a Volvo Ocean Race stopover in 2012. The results of the study were used by Auckland City Council and IAEG to assess the feasibility of submitting a stopover bid.
Evaluation of World Masters Games 2017
The purpose of this project was to estimate the potential economic impact of hosting the World Masters Games in Auckland. The analysis formed part of ATEEDs due diligence process, and provided projections of additional visitor nights, expenditure and GDP caused by the event. This information was used to generate an estimate of the return on regional investment in the event. A key component of this project was building international visitor forecasts based on expected numbers of competitors and accompanying persons.
Management of the International Visitor Survey
The International Visitor Survey (IVS) is an ongoing research programme that measures the travel and expenditure patterns of international visitors to New Zealand. The IVS is classified as a Tier 1 statistic by Statistics New Zealand. Covec has managed the data collection component of the programme since 2008, conducting 5,200 face-to-face interviews with departing international visitors annually at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch international airports. Our work includes the management of 17 multi-lingual field staff across three airports, the coordination of interview scheduling to meet survey quotas, and the secure storage and transmission of primary data.
Measuring the economic contribution of events to Auckland
Covec was commissioned by Auckland City Council to assess the economic contribution of Auckland’s entire events portfolio. The outputs from this project included a summary of the size and characteristics of Auckland’s events portfolio, an understanding of the channels through which events contribute to the Auckland economy, and the economic contribution of each channel.
Redesign & management of the Convention Activity Survey
The Convention Activity Survey (CAS) is a monthly online survey of more than 100 professional venues across 12 major centres in New Zealand (Auckland, Hamilton and Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Taupo, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Wellington, Nelson/Marlborough, Canterbury, Queenstown and Dunedin). The CAS measures the number of MICE events and delegates hosted in professional venues each month, and is the only reliable source of convention activity data in New Zealand.
The economic impact of six signature events on Auckland 2009/10
Covec was commissioned by Auckland City Council to measure the economic impact of six signature events on Auckland in 2009/2010. These included Air New Zealand Fashion Week, Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, adidas Auckland Marathon, ASB Classic & Heineken Open, and Auckland Seafood Festival. The analysis of each event was based on event budget and ticketing information, online surveys of event attendees and interviews with sponsors. Covec undertook all aspects of the research including field research, online surveying, data analysis, economic modelling and reporting.
The economic impact of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series 2009, 2010
The purpose of this project was to estimate the economic impact of the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series on Auckland. The economic analysis was based on information derived from stakeholder consultation and a face-to-face spectator survey designed and implemented by Covec field staff in the Viaduct area.
The Economic Value of Tourism: Supply and Demand-side Perspectives
The Economic Value of Tourism project is a three-year research project that is looking at how tourism creates value in the New Zealand economy. There are two main components to the project. A supply-side analysis is measuring the value that specific tourism-related businesses add to the economy both directly and through supply-chain effects. At the same time, a demand-side analysis is estimating the value to individual business sectors, and the wider New Zealand economy, of the following visitor segment case studies: export education students, cruise passengers and campervan visitors. The analysis is informed by the collection of confidential financial data from selected businesses (supply-side) and detailed online expenditure surveys of selected visitor segments (demand-side).