Capacidades Políticas

The questionnaires were conducted as an on-site survey. This on-site user survey can either be completed by the interviewer or by the respondent (Veal, 1997). For this study a respondent-completion questionnaire was preferred for practical reasons, due mostly to the language barrier between the potential respondents and researcher. There are some advantages that arise with the use of respondent-completion questionnaires; firstly, the level of anonymity respondents can receive when being questioned on sensitive issues (Williams, 2003). However, these questionnaires also allow for less complex/short questionnaires to be analysed at a faster rate; additionally,

respondent-completed questionnaires can reduce the danger of researcher and/or environmental bias (Williams, 2003). Alternatively, questionnaires are a useful tool when investigating a population that is from a differing nationality that may speak another language. Due to the fact that questionnaires are generally an amalgamation of both open-ended and close-ended questions, it is usually less problematic to translate from one language to another, potentially reducing language issues.

Respondent-completed questionnaires can also bring forth certain limitations. Although this form of questionnaire may seem to be cheaper and quicker to administer, the simplicity of the questionnaire, due to design may cause crucial answers to be misinterpreted by the respondent (Veal, 1997). In that regard, inadequate responses and a low degree of completion may occur; and with poor responses the study is then limited in reliability and validity (Veal, 1997). A low standard of completion of the questionnaires will also mean that there could be a bias in the data collected, which would be unrepresentative or less representative of the larger population being studied (Veal, 1997). However, within this study this was overcome by employing a mixed method approach, and taking into account the views of both the visitors and suppliers.

In terms of the design of the respondent-completion questionnaire, closed, open and likert scale questions were employed in the questionnaire distributed to the Chinese visitors. Respondents were asked closed-questions to determine their responses with regards to predesigned answers that the researcher organised to obtain certain attitudes (Williams, 2003). On the other hand, open-ended questions required respondents to answer in their own words their opinions and views of the question. In some circumstances respondents may not be as forthcoming in volunteering to answer open-ended questions because of a variety of reasons. Most of which involve: the questions taking longer to answer due to the fact that they require the respondent to reflect on past experiences, respondents may need to think systematically about their attitudes, or because respondents may not be as informed about the subject to answer such questions (Williams, 2003).

Whereas, likert scales require respondents to decide on their level of agreement with a certain statement; in general a five-point scale is used to denote a particular value to the response. However, for this specific study a number of different scales were employed

to ensure that the scale utilized was suitable for the question being investigated.

Essentially, likert scale measurements primarily measure activity at the ordinal level due to the responses being represented in ranking alone (Veal, 1997). Nonetheless, these types of questions are straightforward to conduct, and are easily comprehendible, with a higher likelihood of generating more reliable information. There are also key limitations with this form of questioning, there would firstly be an issue with the reproducibility of the study, and secondly, the validity of the information may be hindered by the quick interpretation of the questions by respondents (Veal, 1997).

Overall, the visitor survey examined the visitor demographics, trip characteristics, visitor satisfaction, interpretations and attitudes towards sustainable tourism in New Zealand, and New Zealand’s marketing image. However, due to the language barrier that exists between the market being examined and the researcher, the questionnaires developed in English were translated into Mandarin, to ensure respondents were able to answer questions appropriately, and to their full potential. The responses received were then translated back into English to identify the key interrelationships and findings from the questionnaires.

The design of the questionnaire incorporated several segments: the first section of the visitor survey focused on the visitor demographics, trip characteristics, and satisfaction.

By examining these key areas the researcher was able to tackle a major aim of this study, which was to essentially enhance existing knowledge of the Chinese visitor market to New Zealand. This section was potentially considered one of the primary segments due to the findings being employed for comparative analysis with previous research that also investigated the Chinese outbound market.

The second section examined ‘sustainability’, with a number of questions being utilized to address the aim of establishing whether the sustainable development of a destination influences the travel decisions of Chinese visitors and how this impacts on New Zealand’s tourism industry. Moreover, this section seeks to generate a more comprehensive understanding of the Chinese visitor’s view of ‘sustainability’.

Lastly, the final section deals with the assessment of New Zealand’s marketing image.

Due to the fact that New Zealand’s ‘100% PURE NZ’ tourism campaign is the

country’s main promotional representations. This section will attempt to establish whether there is a need for a change in how the tourism industry caters to Chinese visitors, but also identify how effective the campaign is in reaching and attracting Chinese visitors. Finally this section will assess whether the Chinese visitor market believes sustainable tourism in New Zealand is promoted appropriately and successfully.

However, while conducting the questionnaire survey there may potentially be issues regarding the reluctance of Chinese visitors to provide truthful responses, due to the fact that criticism is seen as impolite in the Asian culture (Laabs, 1994). Yet, others may believe that being honest about their opinions and experiences in New Zealand is a good thing, for future improvements within the New Zealand tourism industry, even if they are negative aspects. Additionally, the possibility of Chinese visitors declining to participate in the study could potentially still be quite high due to the fact that many may believe that this research is inappropriate and inconsequential to them because they are only visitors to the destination, they will most likely not repeat visit, with results of this study not impacting on their daily lives (Chen, 2002).

Therefore, to counteract this issue, the researcher utilized souvenirs as a method of attracting the visitors to participate in the visitor survey. Conversely, due to the similar ethnic background of the researcher, this possibility influenced the respondents to partake in the study, but also obtain the trust of the visitors to ensure them that the data they provide will be handled with care, as a ‘face’ giving process for the visitors. As a key cultural influence on the Chinese visitor’s participation in this study may be related to the ‘face-giving’ factor. ‘Face’ as conveyed by Ho (1976) is the respectability and/or consideration that a person can retain from others, this can also be associated with social networks and the extent to which the person is viewed by others (Hwang, 1987). This was therefore an important aspect that the researcher had to take into consideration when implementing both the questionnaires and interviews. It was essential that the researcher gave that ‘face’ or respectability to the respondents as a means of drawing participation, but also honesty when answering the survey questions.