BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – The Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) Research Department recently facilitated a Day Visitor Survey training at The George Hotel.
The training catered for supervisors and managers responsible for Day Visitor data collection in tourist attraction sites that offer day activities.
The purpose of the training was to familiarise personnel with the Survey Application and skills in data analysis. In turn, this will encourage the provision of timely and accurate data to ETA.
The visitor survey collects information on the mode of travel and the geographic and temporal movements of non-residents.
Visitor surveys are designed to gather information about the characteristics of non-residents who stay at hotels or other places of lodging.
According to ETA CEO Linda Nxumalo, there is a difference between a day visitor and a tourist.
She said for example, an excursionist is a visitor without an overnight stay, meaning that the arrival and departure occurs on the same calendar day. Also referred to as a same-day visitor. A tourist is a visitor with a trip duration of at least one night, meaning that the arrival and departure occur on different calendar days.
“The Day Visitor Survey assists in identifying how and where visitors spend their time and funds while in the country; the per cent of visitors’ total trip expenditures made in the respective attraction sites; the size of tourism activity, and find out more on the profile and travel behaviours of the different types of visitors including emaSwati to attraction sites,” said Nxumalo.
Worth mentioning is that discussions conducted also included how product owners could use the data from the survey for business and marketing strategies and to evaluate and improve the performance of their businesses.
