Characteristics of the Sample

The degree to which the sample is representative of the population surveyed (overseas visitors to Greater Manchester) requires discussion in view of the use of non-probability sampling methods. It would be useful to examine the characteristics of the sample within the context of the official statistics on overseas tourism in Greater Manchester. However, the value of the official statistics in constructing a sample frame, or indeed as a basis for validating the sample remains negligible due to a lack of data on the profile of overseas visitors to Greater Manchester. As a result, no direct comparison can be made between different samples of the population.

As will be demonstrated below, the sample shows specific socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics which may have a bearing on the generalisability of any conclusions drawn from the survey. Some of these characteristics can be attributed to the nature of the sampling process; the survey was undertaken during the summer peak visitation period and visitors were primarily intercepted at sites frequented mainly by leisure visitors9. Together with the lack of return from the hotels survey, these two factors are likely to have created certain biases in the

9

As the survey progressed, the researcher had to make decisions on the most profitable locations for obtaining survey returns. Whilst responses were initially collected at the full range of survey locations identified above, the paltry number of overseas visitors at some sites did not justify the expense and time of repeatedly dispatching interviewers to these locations. Thus, towards the end of the survey, a smaller range of sites was used which were those that attracted the highest number of overseas visitors. The number of questionnaires completed at each survey site can be seen in Appendix 8.

sample; these will be discussed below. Other sample characteristics may genuinely be attributed to the profile of overseas visitors in Greater Manchester but, without further extensive and costly research, it is difficult to state definitively whether this is the case.

Gender

The sample was comprised of 56.6% male tourists, and 43.4% female. The higher number of male respondents is unlikely to be due to interviewer bias as all potential respondents were targeted.

Age

It has been observed above that the demographic market cities attract is likely to be influenced by their image. Manchester has a reputation for vibrant nightlife and a large student population. It is generally accepted that Manchester is a popular destination with the younger market; indeed, in its promotional literature Marketing Manchester portrays the city in just this way. Furthermore, Cockerell (1997) claims that the 20-39 year-old age segment is the most likely to take city trips. Therefore, it may be argued that a sample skewed towards the younger end of the market such as that found in our sample (see Table 4.4), may be an appropriate one.

Table 4.4 – Age Structure of Sample

Age Group Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

15-24 91 32.6 34.0 34.0 25-34 104 37.3 38.8 72.8 35-44 36 12.9 13.4 86.2 45-54 20 7.2 7.5 93.7 55-64 13 4.7 4.9 98.5 65 and over 4 1.4 1.5 100.0 Total 268 96.1 100.0 Missing 11 3.9 279 100.0

Nationality

A total of 48 nationalities were represented in the sample and in a small minority of cases, country of residence differed from nationality. A complete list of respondents’ nationalities, is displayed in Appendix 9. The top ten countries of residence from which the respondents originated are illustrated in Table 4.5. Almost two thirds of all visitors sampled originate from these ten countries.

Table 4.5 – Top Ten Nationalities in Sample

Country Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Spain 53 19.0 19.7 19.7 Australia 19 6.8 7.1 26.8 Germany 18 6.5 6.7 33.5 Japan 17 6.1 6.3 39.8 USA 15 5.4 5.6 45.4 Canada 14 5.0 5.2 50.6 China 12 4.3 4.5 55.0 France 10 3.6 3.7 58.7 Italy 10 3.6 3.7 62.5 Hong Kong 7 2.5 2.6 65.1 Total 175 62.8 65.1

A comparison of Tables 4.5 and 4.6 demonstrates the differences between the sample of overseas visitors to Manchester, and the figures recorded for the North West Tourist Board Region (NWTB, 2002) for the same year, with regard to country of origin. In particular, Spanish and Japanese visitors are much better represented in the sample, possibly due to the large number of students of these nationalities that attend English language courses in Manchester. In addition, the percentage of respondents from China and Hong Kong exceeds that for the North West Tourist Board region. This may be attributable to the fact that Greater Manchester’s four universities attract a considerable number of overseas students from these territories.

When interviewing overseas visitors, the ability of the interviewer and respondent to speak each others’ language will have an effect on response rate. Due to financial limitations, it was not possible to employ interviewers whose language ability covered the entire range of nationalities visiting Greater Manchester. Both interviewers who conducted the survey were able to converse in English, Spanish, French and German, and whilst this may theoretically have enhanced the response rate from these nationalities, there were so few refusals (n<1%) to complete the questionnaire due to communication problems that the effect is likely to have been minimal.

Table 4.6 – Origin of Overseas Tourists to North West Tourist Board Region 2000 Country Percentage USA 17 Germany 11 France 9 Netherlands 7 Australia 6 Canada 5 Other countries 45 Source: NWTB (2002) Occupation

As Table 4.7 demonstrates, students were the most numerous type of visitor sampled, followed by intermediate managerial. All other socio-demographic groups had much lesser representation. The chi square ‘goodness of fit’ test using the approximate percentage of families in the UK belonging to each category (see Dibb

et al., 1997) suggests that the sample does not fit the model. However, it is not necessarily to be expected that the socio-economic characteristics of overseas visitors to urban areas will match that of the UK population. Visitors to urban areas

tend to mainly belong to the top three socio-economic groups, a characteristic which is reflected in our sample.

Table 4.7 – Breakdown of Occupation in Sample

Respondents’ Occupation Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent

Higher managerial,

administrative or professional 7 2.5 2.6 2.6 Intermediate managerial,

administrative or professional 95 34.1 35.6 38.2 Supervisory or clerical and

junior managerial, administrative or professional

32 11.5 12.0 50.2

Skilled manual workers 15 5.4 5.6 55.8 Semi and unskilled manual

workers 6 2.2 2.2 58.1

State pensioners or widows (no other earner), casual or lowest grade workers and

other retired 3 1.1 1.1 59.2 Student 103 36.9 38.6 97.8 Retired 6 2.2 2.2 100.0 Valid Total 267 95.7 100.0 Missing -1 12 4.3 Total 279 100.0

The high percentage of students tallies with the number of visitors citing ‘education’ as their main purpose of visit. Manchester has a large overseas student population, and the high number of visitors to Manchester at the younger end of the market (many of whom are likely to be students) has already been discussed. Table 4.8 is a contingency table illustrating breakdown of occupation by age. Whilst it is not possible to test for a relationship between age and occupation in the sample due to the number of empty cells, the vast majority of students are in the 15-34 age brackets, whilst middle class (employed) respondents are mainly between 25 and 44. Cities attract visitors from the higher end of the socio-economic scale, due to several factors. Firstly, the cultural and heritage attractions of cities appeal to a better educated individual (Page, 1995). Secondly, many city breaks are taken in addition to main holidays and are therefore more common among higher earners with greater

levels of disposable income (Cockerell, 1997). These factors are reflected in the skew toward the higher end of the socio-economic scale evident in our sample.

Table 4.8 – Occupation by Age

Age Total

15-24 25-34 35-44 45 and over

Higher managerial, administrative or

professional 1 2 2 2 7

Intermediate managerial,

administrative or professional 6 48 27 14 95 Supervisory or clerical and junior

managerial, administrative or professional

6 14 4 7 32

Skilled manual workers 4 5 1 5 15 Semi and unskilled manual workers 2 2 0 2 6 State pensioners or widows (no other

earner), casual or lowest grade workers and other retired

0 3 0 0 3 Student 72 29 1 1 103 Occupation Retired 0 0 0 6 6 Total 91 103 35 37 267 Purpose of Trip

Table 4.9 shows purpose of trip for the sample (overseas visitors to Greater Manchester) alongside purpose of trip for overseas residents to the North West Tourist Board (NWTB) region in 2001 (NWTB, 2002). The sample of overseas visitors to Greater Manchester is skewed in favour of the leisure visitor. However, it is unlikely that Greater Manchester receives fewer business visitors than the NWTB region as a whole, since Manchester is the largest city in the region and cities are the most popular destinations for business trips due to the concentration of businesses and services they accommodate (Page, 1995; Law, 2002).

Table 4.9 – Overseas Visitor Purpose of Trip North West Tourist Board Region 2000

Purpose of trip North West Tourist Board Sample

%

Survey Sample %

Holiday 24 47.5

Visiting friends or relatives 30 25.2

Business 33 7.9

Other 12 19.4

Source: NWTB (2002)

Independent leisure visitors are almost twice as well represented as any of the other categories in the sample. This may be expected for a sample collected during the peak summer vacation period. VFR visitors are known to represent a large percentage of trips to cities and particularly those with an attractive image (Law, 2002). The large student population in Manchester may further encourage this type of tourism. A large proportion of the category ‘other’ consists of visitors who declared education to be the main purpose of their trip.