International Visitor Survey Methodology

The International Visitor Survey (IVS) samples 40,000 departing, short-term international travellers aged 15 years and over 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 IVS contains around 100 questions supported by 'show-cards' that are used to help the respondent answer particular sections including:

• Usual place of residence
• Repeat visitation
• Group tours
• Travel party
• Sources for obtaining information about Australia
• Purpose of visit and places visited
• Transportation and accommodation
• Activities
• Expenditure
• Demographics.

The survey design and management is the responsibility of the National Survey Section in Tourism Research Australia (TRA). The section works closely with the consultants, key stakeholders and industry to develop and maintain high data quality and relevant outputs.

Since 2004, the IVS has been surveying international visitors in four languages: English, Japanese, Mandarin and Korean. The total number of interviews conducted with particular residents of each country or region is distributed among airports by selecting monthly samples of departing flights and visitors on those flights to achieve acceptable sample sizes in various categories.

Survey results are weighted to data on international visitor numbers over the period, provided by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), with the assistance of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The variables used in weighting the data are:

• country of residence
• state of arrival
• main purpose of journey
• airport of departure
• age and sex of visitor.

Overseas (visitor) arrivals and departures (OAD) data are also published by the ABS (ABS catalogue no. 3401.0) on a monthly basis.

Sample Size

Increase in sample size for 2005 survey

Between 2001 and 2004 interviews were conducted with approximately 20,000 international visitors aged 15 years and over as they were departing Australia. Since 1 January 2005, interviews have been conducted with 40,000 international visitors on an annual basis. The sample was increased in order to enhance the estimates for smaller states, territories and regions. Increasing the sample size of the IVS by 100% has improved the reliability of survey estimates.

Visitor interview by country or region of residence

The table below shows the number of interviews conducted in the December Quarter 2012 and for the year ended 31 December 2012.

Sample size by country or residence

Data Reliability

The results given in the IVS are based on a sample, rather than a census, of international visitors to Australia. As with all sample surveys, the results are subject to sampling variability, and therefore may differ from figures that would be obtained if all international visitors to Australia had been included in the survey.

A measure of the possible degree of difference is given by the relative standard error of the survey and its associated confidence interval, which indicates the extent to which an estimate might vary by chance from the true figure because only a sample of the population was included.

The table below provides the 95% confidence interval widths for a range of estimates available in the IVS. That is, there are approximately 19 chances in 20 that the true number is within the range identified by applying the figures in the table.

Size of 95% Confidence Interval for Estimate (expressed as a percentage of the estimate)

# - 95% Confidence Interval is greater than estimate.

The following example illustrates the use of this table to determine a range within which we are 95% confident that the true total lies. Say, the estimated number of Chinese visitors who stayed in Queensland was 100,000. Looking at the visits column (see table), an estimate of 100,000 visitors has a 95% Confidence Interval of 9.9%. Thus we are 95% confident that the true number of Chinese who stayed in Queensland was between 90,100 and 109,900 visitors (100,000 ± 9.9%).

The IVS relative standard errors were calculated using the Complex Survey Sampling module in SPSS V14.0. Estimates of variation are based on sampling with replacement principles and makes allowances for the IVS stratification. The covariance and estimates output from this program were then regressed with a log transformation using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to achieve three independent models (for visitors, nights and expenditure). The models were computed using the R statistical program and the actual relationship modelled was:

1n (COV) = a + b * 1n (ESTIMATE)

Where, a = intercept, b = gradient (slope)

The model parameters were approximated as: