| The Commonwealth Tourism Centre (CTC) is responsible for promoting intra-Commonwealth tourism, developing strategic partnership, and strengthening tourism investment as well as capacity-building, and facilitating information exchange. Therefore, it is critical for CTC to represent itself as a centre of excellence for the tourism industry of the Commonwealth nations. Positioned as a leading tourism research centre, CTC is committed in providing an environment, which encourages staff to actively pursue matters pertaining the research and development of this industry. Therefore, it is CTC's task to discuss the various research approaches related to tourism. CTC is also focussing on accepted measures and research method standards in empirical studies on tourism. Many setbacks arose because measurements and methods used in other tourism-related research work were assumed to be optimal (or at least valid) for solving particular problems. Unfortunately this assumption is inaccurate. Over time, CTC will focus on accepted standards in empirical tourism research, which have the potential to validate findings. The lack of hard data or systematic research on tourism demand and supply is one of the issues CTC aims to overcome, while identifying certain unreliable standard approaches and making the right recommendations for researchers to consider and adopt. These are the critical subject areas: 1. International and national economic development.
2. Human development, gender and the environment.
3. Forced migration; the experience and management of displacement; and institutional and normative responses to forced migration.
4. Development and conflict.
5. State, markets and politics: Commonwealth States. The full economic impact of tourism on communities in Commonwealth nations was never fully identified, nor were problems properly addressed. Since tourism provides local economic benefits, it is important to study and formulate the right structures and practices for both these economic components. Tourism-related businesses depend on constant promotions and a positive imaging, thus stakeholders are often reluctant to discuss openly negative or critical issues for fear of adverse effects on the industry. CTC is determined to bridge this gap as economic impact studies will provide better information to local and state officials as well as encourage more cooperative ventures among tourism stakeholders. | 
CTC aims to help researchers and practitioners to contribute and exchange knowledge through an international dimension in order to overcome cultural barriers and respond to the ever accelerating technological and global change. With the objective of becoming an outstanding forum where results can be shared across institutions, governments, academia, research and the tourism community.