Abstract:

It is probably relatively easy to assess the need for such information when it is only used in-house, but how does an organisation which provides a service to the public at large assess the value of the research it disseminates? This question arose when the English Tourist Board questioned the relevance of one of their studies 'The English Hotel Occupancy Survey'. This paper describes how the English Tourist Board critically assessed the value of this survey both to internal and external users. It describes how a postal survey was conducted with recipients outside the Board; and how the results of this investigation were used. Also, it describes how the validity of the research was examined and criticisms found to be groundless.