3.5.1 Selection of Sampling Technique
Interviews were employed as the secondary form of data collection and was a key research method in this study to gather ‘factual information’ with regards to the suppliers’ point of view. However, the interviews were also employed to explore more multifaceted and delicate relationships and occurrences (Denscombe, 2007). Interviews enable the researcher to get respondents to expand and explain further their ‘opinions’, giving an additional insightful understanding of data, with the ability to arrange alternative explanations to conclusions (Denscombe, 2007). Nonetheless, the form of interview utilized and the methods in which the interviews are implemented will essentially depend on the research question and methodology (Richards & Morse, 2007).
A non-probability sampling approach was implemented in the selection of participants for the interviews, because this study attempts to develop an understanding of certain concepts and circumstantial factors such as ‘sustainability’ and the Chinese visitor market. The face-to-face interview technique was employed to investigate inbound tour operators. Interviewees were selected from a list of ADS registered New Zealand tour operators found on the Tourism New Zealand website (www.tourismnewzealand.com).
The ADS, also known as ‘The Tourism New Zealand China Group Tour Approved
Destination Status System’, involves the approval of New Zealand based inbound tour operators which operate within the China ADS system and monitoring their conduct, performance and quality standards (TNZ, 2008). Furthermore, no specific sampling method was employed, due to the limited number of ADS inbound tour operators that promote and market their products to visitors from China.
3.5.2 Design of Research Instrument
In reality interviews have shifting forms of structure, yet all respondents generally get a set subject with the researcher having a potential list of questions that would likely be investigated during the interview. In this study semi-structured interviews were carried out to examine the key issues. Like structured interviews, semi-structured interviews allow the researcher to associate the responses from the questionnaire with answers to structured questions asked in the interviews. For the semi-structured interviews the researcher developed open-ended questions prior to the interviews, arranged in a fairly orderly manner. Generally, the interviewees were asked the same questions by the researcher, however, the order of the questions maybe different and the probes may vary from planned and unplanned. Semi-structured interviews was more appropriate because the researcher had some sense of knowledge of the topic being investigated, therefore offering the researcher more systematisation and ease of question delivery with preplanned questions (Richards & Morse, 2007). Additionally, in semi-structured interviews the interviewer is able to be more accommodating in regards to the order of questions being asked; additionally, semi-structured interviews permits interviewees to speak more liberally about broader issues introduced by the researcher (Denscombe, 2007).
The development of the interview schedule for this study was generated from a number of components; the main two aspects include previous literature, and the questionnaires that were distributed to the Chinese visitors. The primary motivation for utilizing past literature in developing the interview schedule related directly to: identifying the research gaps and cultivating questions to tackle the disparities. Whereas, the questions in the questionnaires, and the responses given by the respondents of the questionnaires were also employed to generate the interview schedule because the researcher was able to establish areas that needed to be examined further but from the suppliers’ perspective.
By gaining the suppliers perspective the researcher is able to undertake a comparative
analysis between the visitors perspective, but also to produce a more in-depth understanding of both the Chinese visitor market and ‘sustainability’ (see Appendix F).
The primary aims of the interviews were to: develop existing knowledge of the Chinese visitor market to New Zealand, to attain an improved understanding of the tour operators’ view of ‘sustainability’, to establish if the tour operators believe New Zealand is a sustainable tourist destination, and to ascertain how the tour operators promote sustainable tourism in New Zealand to their customers.
Although the interviews were estimated to take approximately 30 minutes, the actual duration of the interviews differed between interviewees, this was due to the interviewees having different views and perceptions, but also if an interviewee developed an interesting point the researcher may have employed an unplanned probing question. Therefore, interviews took between 20-40 minutes to complete, differing between interviewees. With the study attempting to comprehend various concepts and circumstances connected to ‘sustainability’, the face-to-face interview method was seen as most suitable to extend insight and awareness.
Unstructured interviews were also considered as a substitute for the semi-structured interviews, however, was not implemented because this method would be difficult for the researcher to obtain a complete understanding of the subject without having a list of planned questions that would assist in interpreting the aims of the study. Telephone and email interviewing was considered as alternative forms of qualitative data collection methods; however, there are particular disadvantages that occur with these interviewing methods. For example, with telephone interviewing there is generally a lesser response rate than many other forms of interviewing such as face-to-face, therefore in many circumstances telephone interviews need to be much shorter (Williams, 2003). This form of interviewing can mean that respondents are able to terminate the interview when they wish, and without notification or justification, by hanging up the telephone (Williams, 2003).
3.5.3 Data Collection
At the time of sampling and data collection only nineteen inbound tour operators were registered on the ADS list, eighteen of the tour operators were located in Auckland, with the only one tour operator located in Christchurch therefore was excluded from the
study, but this tour operator was also excluded because of resource constraints such as time and finance.
From the eighteen ADS registered tour operators located in Auckland all were firstly contacted via a postal letter informing the managers of the organizations about this study, the importance of the study, what the interviews will entail, and what the data or information will be used for (see Appendix E). After the letters were sent, telephone calls and emails were employed to confirm whether the tour operators would participate in the interviews. All were contacted, with nine tour operators accepting to participate, six declining, and three non-responses to the request for participation; therefore receiving a 36.8% response rate. Two of the tour operators that had agreed to participate in the interview, however did not turn up to the interview appointment, therefore resulting in only seven completed interviews.
It is understood that the interview data may have been more meaningful if the sample population was larger, however, due to the fact that only ADS tour operators were employed as the sample population there would unquestionably be some who would decline participation. ADS registered tour operators were the only operators examined because this group clearly target and cater to the Chinese visitor market, but also because these tour operators are part of the ADS programme, essentially meaning the operators will all abide by similar rules and regulations in the operation of their tours for the Chinese visitor market.
3.5.4 Interview Limitations
Although the interviews contributed greatly to the information gathered in the questionnaires, there were a number of limitations that occurred during the implementation of the interviews. The primary issues that arose was the fact that this study did not implement the use of any form of sampling technique, due to the fact that there was only nineteen ADS registered inbound tour operators. Moreover, it was difficult to influence the ADS registered tour operators to participate in the interviews, the researcher could have considered undertaking the study on non-ADS registered tour operators; however, this would have impacted on the consistency in the actual tour operators interviewed. There was also a problem in proving the importance of this research and attaining value from the ADS tour operators that this study would assist
their understanding of the Chinese visitor market and the New Zealand tourism industry.
However, with regards to the difficulty in the implementation of the interviews, there were concerns and struggles with asking all the interview questions during the interviews because some interviewees did not understand or have not heard of vital areas of the study, for example ‘sustainability’, ‘sustainable tourist destinations’, and the ‘New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015’.
Conversely, there were problems with communicating and potentially transcribing the tour operator interviews due to language barriers, which also impacted on the understanding of some interview questions by tour operators. Although the inbound tour operators interviewed were all based in New Zealand not all spoke and understood English at the same level. This was understandable due to the fact that the majority of the operators specifically target the Chinese visitor market; hence, communication in their clients’ mother tongue is essential. Yet, this generated a number of communication issues between the interviewee and the researcher, because the researcher was unable to communicate with the interviewee in Mandarin.