- Email: [email protected]
Host Involvement in VFR Travel
RESEARCH
NOTES
701
AND REPORTS
National Reserve, C. G. Gakahu, ed., pp. 39-61. Nairobi: Wildlife Conservation International. Kenya, Republic of 1983 Report of the Presidential Committee on Unemployment 1982/83. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya, Republic of 1991 Development and Employment in Kenya: A Strategy for the Transformation of the Economy-Report of the Presidential Committee on Employment. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya, Republic of 1994a Sessional Paper No. 1 of 1994 on Recovery and Sustainable Development to the Year 2010. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya, Republic of 1994b National Development Plan for the Period 1994 to 1996. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kiambwarata, D. 1994 90 pc (sic) in Tourism Still Lack Training. The Standard (November 1). Munvori. N. K. 19$2a’Information, Education and Training Needs for Sustaining Tourism. In Ecotourism and Sustainable Develooment in Kenva. C. G. Gakahu and B. E. Goode, eds., pp. 109-l 15. Nairobi: Gildlife Conse&tion International. Munyori, N. 199213 Sustainable Use of Wildlife Resources for Tourism in Kenya. In Tourist
Attitudes and Use Impacts in Maasai Mara National Reserve. C. G. Gakahu, ed., pp. 16-l 7. Nairobi: Wildlife Conservation International.
Ouma, J. P. M. B. 1970 Evolution of Tourism in East Africa (1900-2000). Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau. Sindiga, I. 1994 Employment and Training in Tourism in Kenya. Journal of Tourism Studies 5(2):45-52. Submitted 24 March 1995 Resubmitted 18 April 1995 Accepted 16 June 1995
0160-7383(95)00094-l
Host Involvement in VFR ‘Ikavel Bob McKercher Charles Sturt University, Australia A study was conducted testing an alternative method of examining the size and importance of Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel to a regional Australian center. The study examined the role hosts play in VFR travel and tested whether or not reliable VFR data could be developed by surveying hosts, rather than visitors. Albury/Wodonga, an inland community straddling the New South Wales/Victoria border, was the study locus. It is a large regional center with a metropolitan population of 92,000 people, located 300 km north east of Melbourne and 500 km south west of Sydney. VFR travel accounts for about 32% of all domestic person-trips in Australia and for up to 50% of domestic visitor-nights in New South Wales and Victoria (BTR 1994). Its importance is probably larger in smaller communities that lack built attractions capable of drawing a wider array of
702
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
tourists. Gathering reliable tourist visitation information figures for smaller communities, however, is problematic. Such data are collected through the Domestic Tourism Monitor (DTM), which surveys between 66,000 and 68,000 people a year. But, because of the sampling techniques used, the number of people surveyed who visit smaller communities is often small, resulting in unreliable estimates being produced. For example, a sample of about 20 people from the entire DTM population of 68,000 is used to estimate VFR travel to Albury. These estimates are then multiplied by statewide expenditure and length of stay norms and then doubled to reflect the trans-border status of the region, further reducing the robustness of the results. Best estimates from existing sources (AWDC 1988, NSWTC 1992) suggest that VFR travelers make about 190,000 person-trips a year to the area, spend 750,000 person-nights here and inject $36.8 million into the local economy (Australian dollars reported throughout this paper). Structured telephone interviews were conducted by tourism management students with 225 residents of the AlburyMJodonga area during March, 1994. A stratified random sample of people listed in the local telephone directory was used to select prospective respondents. While such a sampling technique does have some limitations, it was deemed to be the most cost effective means of reaching the study’s target audience. The survey itself was divided into four parts. Respondents were first asked if they had hosted friends or relatives in the last 12 months, and if so, how many times had they acted as hosts. They were then asked a series of questions about the most recent visit, including the duration of the visit, the type of accommodation used by visitors, activities undertaken, and whether or not hosts had incurred incremental expenses. Study participants were then asked for their impressions of the attractiveness of the Albury/Wodonga region as a tourism destination, Lastly, standard demographic information about the respondent and his/her household was collected. The data were collated and analyzed using SPSS for Windows software. The results discussed in this paper were derived using median scores, which best compensate for outliers that were observed in the data. More than 88% of households surveyed indicated that they had welcomed friends or relatives for overnight stays in the last year. More significantly, a median of 5 visits per though, residents are prolific hosts, recording household, with one quarter of the sample reporting 10 or more discrete visits a year. The likelihood of hosting VFR travel is not influenced by the respondent’s age, length of residency in the community, family status, or life stage. A small but statistically significant inverse correlation was noted, household income and the likelihood of welcoming however, between visitors (r = -.220, p = .OOO). Comparing the results of this study to previous studies suggests that the incidence of VFR travel is likely under-reported, but that length of stay, and consequently expenditures, are over-reported. The survey of householders revealed that 219,000 VFR person-trips are made to Albury/Wodonga each’ year, compared to previous estimates of 190,000 person-trips. The median length of stay was only 2 nights, though, which is half the state-wide average of 4.00 nights used to calculate estimated expenditure. As a result, instead of staying for 750,000 person-nights and spending $36.8 million in the area, the study of hosts suggests that visitors stayed only 438,000 person-nights here and spent $21.5 million while visiting. The greater part (91%) of the respondents incurred additional expenses when their friends or relatives visited. The median incremental expenditure reported was $50 per trip or $12.50 per adult person-night. A strong positive correlation exists between the length of stay and the amount of additional expense incurred (r = .678,p = .OOO), although no such relation-
RESEARCH
NOTES
703
AND REPORTS
ship was evident between party size and expenditure. These expenditures typically went to businesses that are not normally associated with the tourism industry. Grocery stores, petrol stations, bottle shops, restaurants, bars, and retail shopping were cited most frequently, while entrance fees, transport, and accommodation costs were mentioned least frequently. Collectively, the residents of Albury/Wodonga injected about $5.5 million into the local economy while their friends and relatives visited. By not accounting for hosts’ incurred expenses, the true economic benefit of VFR market as a whole to local communities could be under-reported by as much as 25%. At present, incremental costs assumed by hosts are not calculated in tourism accounts for they do not represent “new” money injected into a community. Nonetheless, they are expenses that have been incurred as a direct result of tourism activity in the region. By factoring in hosts’ expenses, a more complete estimate of the economic impact of VFR travel would emerge. While local residents are major players in the VFR market, the commercial tourism industry largely appears to be excluded from this activity. Hosts reported that less than 5% of their travel parties used commercial lodging, while the other 95% stayed with them or with other friends and relatives. In a similar manner, hosts reported alow use of the area’s built attractions. The most frequently mentioned activities undertaken were, in order, shopping, visiting the local recreational lake, visiting clubs, general sightseeing, and touring through the surrounding historic gold mining townships. The most popular built attraction ranked seventh on this list, with the four other built tourism attractions ranking between 14th and 17th. Interestingly, the owner/operator of the one attraction informed the author that the VFR market accounted for up to 30% of his client base, yet this study revealed that only 3% of households visited his facility while friends and/or relatives visited. The methodology tested provides an alternate, cost effective means for regional communities to gain valuable insights into the size and importance of VFR market. While significant differences emerged between the findings of this study and earlier estimates of VFR travel using DTM data, it is felt that, because of the methodology used and larger sample size, the results of this study are statistically more reliable. Importantly, the study revealed the extent of the involvement of local residents in their own community’s tourism industry. As a result, Tourism AlburyWodonga has developed a marketing plan targeting hosts of prospective visitors. 0 0 Bob McKercher: Charles Sturt University PO Box 789, Albury NSW [email protected].
2640, Australia. Email
REFERENCES Albury Wodonga Development Corporation 1988 Albury Wodonga Tourism in Albury Wodonga. Albury, NSW: Albury Wodonga Development Corporation. Bureau of Tourism Research 1994 Domestic Tourism Monitor December Quarter 1993. Canberra: Bureau of Tourism Research. New South Wales Tourism Commission 1992 Regional Tourism Trends in New South Wales - Murray Riverina. Sydney: New South Wales Tourism Commission. Submitted 20 March 1994 Resubmitted 12 April 1995 Accepted 16 June 1995
0160-7383
(95) 00100-X
NOTES
701
AND REPORTS
National Reserve, C. G. Gakahu, ed., pp. 39-61. Nairobi: Wildlife Conservation International. Kenya, Republic of 1983 Report of the Presidential Committee on Unemployment 1982/83. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya, Republic of 1991 Development and Employment in Kenya: A Strategy for the Transformation of the Economy-Report of the Presidential Committee on Employment. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya, Republic of 1994a Sessional Paper No. 1 of 1994 on Recovery and Sustainable Development to the Year 2010. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kenya, Republic of 1994b National Development Plan for the Period 1994 to 1996. Nairobi: Government Printer. Kiambwarata, D. 1994 90 pc (sic) in Tourism Still Lack Training. The Standard (November 1). Munvori. N. K. 19$2a’Information, Education and Training Needs for Sustaining Tourism. In Ecotourism and Sustainable Develooment in Kenva. C. G. Gakahu and B. E. Goode, eds., pp. 109-l 15. Nairobi: Gildlife Conse&tion International. Munyori, N. 199213 Sustainable Use of Wildlife Resources for Tourism in Kenya. In Tourist
Attitudes and Use Impacts in Maasai Mara National Reserve. C. G. Gakahu, ed., pp. 16-l 7. Nairobi: Wildlife Conservation International.
Ouma, J. P. M. B. 1970 Evolution of Tourism in East Africa (1900-2000). Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau. Sindiga, I. 1994 Employment and Training in Tourism in Kenya. Journal of Tourism Studies 5(2):45-52. Submitted 24 March 1995 Resubmitted 18 April 1995 Accepted 16 June 1995
0160-7383(95)00094-l
Host Involvement in VFR ‘Ikavel Bob McKercher Charles Sturt University, Australia A study was conducted testing an alternative method of examining the size and importance of Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) travel to a regional Australian center. The study examined the role hosts play in VFR travel and tested whether or not reliable VFR data could be developed by surveying hosts, rather than visitors. Albury/Wodonga, an inland community straddling the New South Wales/Victoria border, was the study locus. It is a large regional center with a metropolitan population of 92,000 people, located 300 km north east of Melbourne and 500 km south west of Sydney. VFR travel accounts for about 32% of all domestic person-trips in Australia and for up to 50% of domestic visitor-nights in New South Wales and Victoria (BTR 1994). Its importance is probably larger in smaller communities that lack built attractions capable of drawing a wider array of
702
RESEARCH NOTES AND REPORTS
tourists. Gathering reliable tourist visitation information figures for smaller communities, however, is problematic. Such data are collected through the Domestic Tourism Monitor (DTM), which surveys between 66,000 and 68,000 people a year. But, because of the sampling techniques used, the number of people surveyed who visit smaller communities is often small, resulting in unreliable estimates being produced. For example, a sample of about 20 people from the entire DTM population of 68,000 is used to estimate VFR travel to Albury. These estimates are then multiplied by statewide expenditure and length of stay norms and then doubled to reflect the trans-border status of the region, further reducing the robustness of the results. Best estimates from existing sources (AWDC 1988, NSWTC 1992) suggest that VFR travelers make about 190,000 person-trips a year to the area, spend 750,000 person-nights here and inject $36.8 million into the local economy (Australian dollars reported throughout this paper). Structured telephone interviews were conducted by tourism management students with 225 residents of the AlburyMJodonga area during March, 1994. A stratified random sample of people listed in the local telephone directory was used to select prospective respondents. While such a sampling technique does have some limitations, it was deemed to be the most cost effective means of reaching the study’s target audience. The survey itself was divided into four parts. Respondents were first asked if they had hosted friends or relatives in the last 12 months, and if so, how many times had they acted as hosts. They were then asked a series of questions about the most recent visit, including the duration of the visit, the type of accommodation used by visitors, activities undertaken, and whether or not hosts had incurred incremental expenses. Study participants were then asked for their impressions of the attractiveness of the Albury/Wodonga region as a tourism destination, Lastly, standard demographic information about the respondent and his/her household was collected. The data were collated and analyzed using SPSS for Windows software. The results discussed in this paper were derived using median scores, which best compensate for outliers that were observed in the data. More than 88% of households surveyed indicated that they had welcomed friends or relatives for overnight stays in the last year. More significantly, a median of 5 visits per though, residents are prolific hosts, recording household, with one quarter of the sample reporting 10 or more discrete visits a year. The likelihood of hosting VFR travel is not influenced by the respondent’s age, length of residency in the community, family status, or life stage. A small but statistically significant inverse correlation was noted, household income and the likelihood of welcoming however, between visitors (r = -.220, p = .OOO). Comparing the results of this study to previous studies suggests that the incidence of VFR travel is likely under-reported, but that length of stay, and consequently expenditures, are over-reported. The survey of householders revealed that 219,000 VFR person-trips are made to Albury/Wodonga each’ year, compared to previous estimates of 190,000 person-trips. The median length of stay was only 2 nights, though, which is half the state-wide average of 4.00 nights used to calculate estimated expenditure. As a result, instead of staying for 750,000 person-nights and spending $36.8 million in the area, the study of hosts suggests that visitors stayed only 438,000 person-nights here and spent $21.5 million while visiting. The greater part (91%) of the respondents incurred additional expenses when their friends or relatives visited. The median incremental expenditure reported was $50 per trip or $12.50 per adult person-night. A strong positive correlation exists between the length of stay and the amount of additional expense incurred (r = .678,p = .OOO), although no such relation-
RESEARCH
NOTES
703
AND REPORTS
ship was evident between party size and expenditure. These expenditures typically went to businesses that are not normally associated with the tourism industry. Grocery stores, petrol stations, bottle shops, restaurants, bars, and retail shopping were cited most frequently, while entrance fees, transport, and accommodation costs were mentioned least frequently. Collectively, the residents of Albury/Wodonga injected about $5.5 million into the local economy while their friends and relatives visited. By not accounting for hosts’ incurred expenses, the true economic benefit of VFR market as a whole to local communities could be under-reported by as much as 25%. At present, incremental costs assumed by hosts are not calculated in tourism accounts for they do not represent “new” money injected into a community. Nonetheless, they are expenses that have been incurred as a direct result of tourism activity in the region. By factoring in hosts’ expenses, a more complete estimate of the economic impact of VFR travel would emerge. While local residents are major players in the VFR market, the commercial tourism industry largely appears to be excluded from this activity. Hosts reported that less than 5% of their travel parties used commercial lodging, while the other 95% stayed with them or with other friends and relatives. In a similar manner, hosts reported alow use of the area’s built attractions. The most frequently mentioned activities undertaken were, in order, shopping, visiting the local recreational lake, visiting clubs, general sightseeing, and touring through the surrounding historic gold mining townships. The most popular built attraction ranked seventh on this list, with the four other built tourism attractions ranking between 14th and 17th. Interestingly, the owner/operator of the one attraction informed the author that the VFR market accounted for up to 30% of his client base, yet this study revealed that only 3% of households visited his facility while friends and/or relatives visited. The methodology tested provides an alternate, cost effective means for regional communities to gain valuable insights into the size and importance of VFR market. While significant differences emerged between the findings of this study and earlier estimates of VFR travel using DTM data, it is felt that, because of the methodology used and larger sample size, the results of this study are statistically more reliable. Importantly, the study revealed the extent of the involvement of local residents in their own community’s tourism industry. As a result, Tourism AlburyWodonga has developed a marketing plan targeting hosts of prospective visitors. 0 0 Bob McKercher: Charles Sturt University PO Box 789, Albury NSW [email protected].
2640, Australia. Email
REFERENCES Albury Wodonga Development Corporation 1988 Albury Wodonga Tourism in Albury Wodonga. Albury, NSW: Albury Wodonga Development Corporation. Bureau of Tourism Research 1994 Domestic Tourism Monitor December Quarter 1993. Canberra: Bureau of Tourism Research. New South Wales Tourism Commission 1992 Regional Tourism Trends in New South Wales - Murray Riverina. Sydney: New South Wales Tourism Commission. Submitted 20 March 1994 Resubmitted 12 April 1995 Accepted 16 June 1995
0160-7383
(95) 00100-X