Download Fragment

Thursday, 9 February 2012
Page: 754

Tourism Research Australia: International and National Visitor Surveys

(Question No. 786)

Mr Baldwin asked the Minister for Tourism, in writing, on 24 November 2011:

In respect of a recent media report ALP ups spending on focus groups by Tom Dusevic (The Australian, 14 November 2011) on the Australian Labor Party increasing spending on focus groups, specifically the $5 million spent on a survey of domestic and international tourists: (a) what is the purpose of the report referred to in the article; (b) did the report make any recommendations to the Government, if so, (i) what were they, and (ii) has the Government adopted any; (c) what research methodology was employed by the agency; (d) on what grounds (i) was the cost of the consultancy justified, and (ii) did ORC Australia win the right to undertake the survey; (e) on what date did his department commission the report; (f) what length of time did the research take to complete; and (g) will the full report be made public, if so, when.

Mr Martin Ferguson: The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

Note: The response below assumes that this question is referring to payments totalling $4.96 million paid to ORC Australia Pty Ltd in 2010-11 to undertake survey work for Tourism Research Australia's International and National Visitor surveys (refer to The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism Annual Report 2010-11, Appendix 4, page 210, Table 23 Advertising and Market Research).

(a) The International Visitor Survey represents the most comprehensive source of information on international visitors to Australia. It has been operating since the early 1970s and is jointly funded by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments.

The National Visitor Survey (NVS) is Australia's primary measure of domestic tourism activity, being the major source of information on the characteristics and travel patterns of domestic tourists. It has been operating since 1999 when it replaced the then Domestic Tourism Monitor (DTM). It is jointly funded by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments.

(b) The reports are published quarterly and posted on Tourism Research Australia's (TRA) website; they provide statistics on travel patterns and behaviour, there are no direct recommendations made in the reports.

(c) The International Visitor Survey samples 40,000 departing, short-term international travellers over the age of 15 years who have been visiting Australia. The survey is conducted by Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) in the departure lounges of the eight major international airports; Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and the Gold Coast.

The National Visitor Survey is conducted with approximately 120,000 Australian residents aged 15 years and over on an annual basis. Respondents are interviewed in their homes using random digit dialling and a Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing system.

(d) (i) The IVS and NVS are the most comprehensive national tourism surveys and measure the economic value of tourism to the economy through the collection of expenditure data. The surveys also provide detailed data on other variables including travel patterns and social and demographics as well as other characteristics of visitation in Australia. The surveys provide information to government, industry, academic institutions and the public. The surveys are jointly funded by the Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments.

(ii) Opinion Research (ORC) has been engaged to undertake this survey work through a merit based tender process. ORC won the right to undertake the foreign language field work component of the International Visitor Survey in 2004. In 2005, ORC successfully tendered for the right to conduct all field work components of the IVS. In 2006, ORC won the right to conduct the field work components of the NVS.

(e) The reports are published quarterly and posted on the TRA website. The most recent international report titled "International Visitors in Australia - September 2011" was released on the 7th of December 2011. The most recent domestic travel report titled "Travel by Australian - September 2011" was released on the 14th of December 2011.

(f) The surveys are ongoing with interviews conducted daily, with the results compiled and published quarterly.

(g) The full reports are made public each quarter, the most recent international report was released on the 7th of December 2011 and the most recent domestic report on the 14th of December 2011.