Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

Maj Eriksson, Statistics Sweden

maj.eriksson@scb.se&

Peter Terpstra, Swedish Tourist Authority

peter.terpstra@tourist.se

Border surveys – how to do and how not to

or to do or not to do

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Incoming Visitors to Sweden – background

• Method

• Our experiences– Methodological– User value

• Major results

Agenda

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Accommodation statistics since 1978• 1999 - Swedish Tourist Authority decides to

finance boarder survey– For better estimations and analysis on incoming

tourism– Better basis for decision-making– To calculate the economic impact– Economic comparisons between categories of tourists

Background

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• July 2000 to July 2003

• Over 45 000 interviews

The IBIS study -Incoming Visitors to Sweden

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Interviews at 11 boarder crossing points

• Only foreign visitors– At departure– Overnight- and day visitors

Method

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Sample in several steps: – “Interviewing shifts”– One of two sampling methods was chosen

• Questionnaire in twelve languages– Filled out by interviewer– Could be handed over to the visitor

• Database to users

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Length of interview

• Language difficulties

• Practical circumstances

• The long land borders

Experiences - methodological

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Length of interview

• Language difficulties

• Practical circumstances

• The long land borders

• Costly process

Experiences - methodological

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Major users/owners

• Distribution of results

• Reports/publications

• Significant value for The Swedish Tourist Authority

• Need for regional data

• Need for additional data

User Value

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

Major results

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

Major results

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

Major results

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

Major results

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

Major results

Border surveys –The Swedish Experience

• Is it possible to get a complete picture of the incoming tourism?

• Does it exist more effective and efficient methods to conduct these kind of surveys to lower costs and with the same high quality and user value?

Finally…