KI Traveller's Levy Economic Impact Assessment - Kangaroo Island ...

Commercial-in-Confidence
KI Traveller’s Levy
Impact Assessment
APPENDIX D: COMPARING TRA AND TOMM DATA
NVS and IVS
The main source of visitor statistics for most tourism regions in Australia is the National
Visitor Survey (NVS) and International Visitor Survey (IVS) which are conducted by Tourism
Research Australia. These surveys are sample surveys with interviews conducted
continuously throughout the year. In 2004 the IVS involved face-to-face interviews with
some 20,000 international visitors conducted in departure lounges at major international
airports and the NVS home telephone interviews with some 80,000 Australians about recent
travel. These surveys provide a range of information about the characteristics and travel
patterns of domestic and international visitors across Australia and enable comparisons with
results at a national, state and regional level. The IVS sample is weighted to data on
international visitor numbers provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to
the ABS. The NVS is benchmarked to population estimates and weights calculated on an
individual trip basis.
A limitation of the IVS and NVS is that, like all sample surveys, results are subject to
sampling variability meaning that the smaller the estimate, the higher the sampling variability.
Thus for many regions, including Kangaroo Island, NVS/IVS estimates may be subject to
high sampling error and should be considered indicative only and used with an
understanding of the level of reliability of the data. In particular, caution is needed in using
the data to track performance over time as change from one period to the next may reflect
normal sampling variability.
TOMM estimates and surveys
Kangaroo Island is fortunate as, being an island, it is able to measure passenger movements
to the Island and conduct its own surveys at Island departure points as all visitors leave
through a limited number of gateways. Passenger movements are measured and exit
surveys conducted as part of the Tourism Optimisation Management Model (TOMM) and this
provides a valuable additional source of information about tourism to Kangaroo Island.
Visitor number estimates
Under TOMM, the number of paying passenger movements are collected from commercial
air and sea transport providers. These figures should provide reasonably accurate data on
total passenger movements to the Island. To derive an estimate of total visitors to the Island
passenger movements are discounted by and estimate of travel to and from the Island by KI
residents. These are derived from the TOMM resident survey which is also a survey and
hence subject to sampling variability.
Visitor and trip characteristics
To derive details of characteristics of visitors and their trip, TOMM conducts an exit survey of
visitors leaving the Island. The methodology of this survey has changed over time. In 2004-
05, it involved a self-completion survey distributed to visitors at airport and ferry departure
points throughout the year with an incentive prize and reply paid envelope. In 2004-05, a
sample of 1,474 visitors was achieved, which was a significant improvement on 2003-04
when the response rate was quite low with just 295 responses. Results are weighted to
reflect known ferry and air movements. The visitor survey estimates are, like all sample
surveys, subject to sampling variability and, in addition, self-completion questionnaires mean
respondent bias may occur.
Source: SATC (2006) Kangaroo Island Tourism Market Analysis, a background paper to the development of the
Kangaroo Island Strategic Tourism Plan. Unpublished.
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