A comparison of survey methods to estimate visitor expenditure at a local event

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between special events’ expenditure and “social bravado” or peer pressure effects. The purpose was to compare the results of recalled expenditure survey data using individual vs. individual but within-group interviews, with a view to establishing the extent to which “social bravado” or peer pressure affects the results. This study replicated the Faulkner and Raybould's research (Festival Manage. Event Tourism 3 (2) (1995) 73) which found the diary recall method more accurate than the interview recall; food and beverage expenditure recorded in diaries was found to be less than that with recall interviews and expenditure by females was less than that by males. They suggested that this was possibly due to a “social bravado” effect when males reported this expenditure in the presence of their peers. This study explored the “social bravado” factor using expenditure survey data, collected singly and singly but within groups. These findings strongly echo those of Faulkner and Raybould (1995) by eliciting some significant differences in reported expenditure particularly where peer pressure may have been involved. Results and discussion in the paper confirmed previous findings about the effects of memory decay and peer pressure. These are examples of specific behavioural characteristics that can influence survey results.