GIFT Interim Director, Associate Professor Sarah Gardiner, presented her views on the future of visitor research statistics in this panel session on Tuesday 25 June 2019 at the Travel and Tourism Research Association (TTRA) Conference in Melbourne. She invited the audience to consider the Big Data they are creating when they post on social media, use an online travel booking system, spend on their credit card or make a call on their mobile phone – what does this data tell researchers about their travel behaviour and expenditure (where they are and what they are doing and when)? Will Big Data make visitor survey data redundant or can these two data sources work together to create a more comprehensive picture of visitor behaviour? Her presentation discussed the pros and cons of this alternative data source.