Survey questionnaires sought

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 3, 19 June 1984, Page 1

Survey questionnaires sought

If the survey into the impact of tourism on Ohakune is to have any value to the community more questionnaires must be completed and returned, said Simon Arkwright from Christchurch last week. Mr Arkwright, who is conducting this survey as part of his thesis for a degree at the University of Canterbury, has already made several trips to Ohakune to distribute the questionnaires to a sampling of businesses and residents in Ohakune. He reported last week that he had received back only 28% of the questionnaires which had been distributed. With such a small response rate, the statistical value of any such surVey is doubtful, said Mr Arkwright. "Perhaps people are finding that the questionnaires, or parts of them, are difficult to fill in — that's my fault not theirs — but I would still like to have all the forms returned whether completed or not," he said. "If people are having problems with some questions they should just complete as many of the others as they can and send the questionnaires back to me in the stamped/addressed envelopes they were provided with." "And if they've mislaid

the envelope or my address perhaps they could just send the completed questionnaire to me at: The Geography Department, University of Canterbury, Christchurch. The survey gives local residents and businesses an opportunity to report ori the effects and impact of tourism to date and to express their opinions about the future development of

tourism in the area. These findings will then be made available to local authorities and the public at large so that local opinion can be taken account of in any future tourist development projects. "So please, in the interests of the whole community, keep those questionnaires coming in," said Mr Arkwright.