A survey answered by Canadian visitors was conducted from July 24 to August 1, 1999 at businesses representing the following sectors: retail, campgrounds, gas stations, hotels & motels, marinas, recreation centers, and restaurants.  A total of 367 Canadian visitors responded to the Canadian Visitor Spending Survey. A significant decline from 681 participants in the 1997 Summer Season survey. The survey instrument is presented in the Appendix to this report.

 Note: The sum of 1999 responses in each table may not equal 367 and 100% consistently due to respondents skipping a question and/or indicating a range by selecting more than one response.

Results of a Survey of Canadian Retail Customers in Clinton County, New York, 1997 and 1999

 The percentage of visitors from Quebec and Ontario has remained relatively unchanged since 1997. Eleven respondents were from other places including: Germany, Manitoba, Vancouver, Connecticut, and New Brunswick.

The number of summer season visitors taking six or fewer trips per year has increased from 32% to 64%. This suggests a difference between summer and winter visitors, with winter visitors more likely to make more frequent trips.

The average length of stay in Clinton County in 1999 has increased since the 1997 summer survey. The percentage of visitors staying 3 to 7 days has increased by 2.2 times and the percentage of those staying more than 7 days has increased 3.4 times. At the same time, 56% of 1999 respondents are staying 2 days or less whereas 81% of 1997 visitors took short trips of 2 days or less. An increase in the average length of stay is evident for both summer and winter visitors.

Average spending per trip has increased significantly from $159.16 in July 1997 to $283.70 in July 1999. This increase is probably due to the fact that the length of stay. In 1999 41% of visitors spent more than $301 per trip whereas only 13% of 1997 visitors spent over $301 per trip.

*Respondents could choose more than one response to this question.

Overall there were declines in spending for food, apparel, lodging, service/repairs with more dramatic declines in entertainment/recreation and liquor/tobacco from the 1997 survey. Spending on gasoline was the only category that showed an increase from 68% in 1997 to 78% in 1999.

*Respondents could choose more than one response to this question.

As can be seen by the total number of responses for each form of payment, 1997 respondents indicated they used more than one form of payment much more often than those in 1999. As many as 472 respondents chose more than one form of payment in 1997 and only 21 respondents chose more than one form in 1999. There were declines in the use of each type of payment, with credit cards showing the smallest decline.

 Methodological Notes: 

To evaluate the reliability of the results one must consider characteristics of the population from which it was drawn.  According to border crossings reports for the week of July 24 through August 1, 1999, 96,376 Canadians entered the U.S. through the 4 ports of entry in Clinton County.  The director of the Champlain INS office estimates that approximately 40% of the July   crossings are coming to Clinton County.  This defines our population as approximately 38,550 (40% of 96,376) individuals.  In order to be conservative, we also assume that the variability associated with this population is moderate to high.  According to generally accepted methods for the analysis of surveys of this type, a response rate of .95% (367/38,550) is significant and supports a 95% level of confidence.  With this as background, the sample of 367 can be seen as reasonable and we can feel comfortable drawing conclusions from the results.

 As an indication of the total annual spending by Canadians visiting the county we begin with forty percent of the average weekly border crossings for the 12 month period prior to the survey (August 1998 through July 1999).  Forty percent of average weekly border crossings for this period is 18,848 (40% of 47,121)  persons per week.  This figure is multiplied by the average spending per trip calculated as a weighted average from the consumer survey of $283.70  and then multiplied by 52 weeks.  This gives us an estimate of total annual spending by Canadian shoppers in Clinton County.

 The result, $278,053,235 is equal to 34% of the estimated total gross sales of all industries subject to sales tax in Clinton County in fiscal year 1998, the last year for which figures are available.

Clinton County's portion of the sales tax raised by Canadian visitor spending is 3% of $278,053,235 or $8,341,597.05. Clinton County's portion of estimated total sales taxes collected for fiscal 1998 is $24,492,713.  The Canadian contribution would represent 34% of estimated total County sales tax revenue in 1998.

 Recommendations for Replication: 

      The December 1998 and July 1999 Canadian visitor spending surveys were conducted by the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce.  For the December survey, the number of participating retail stores increased from 48 in 1996 to 63 in 1998.  The total number of responses decreased by 55.  It is unclear whether the effort made by participating stores to prominently display the survey was adequate or whether Canadian shoppers were more reticent to participate. The Christmas season is a difficult time for shoppers to take time for surveys. 

     The July 1998 Canadian visitor spending survey had the participation of 63 businesses and collected responses from 367 Canadian visitors. There were 681 responses to the July 1997 survey. The significant decrease in the response rate of Canadians is due to conducting fewer interviews face-to-face. In the future, the Chamber will conduct more face-to-face interviews to increase response rates. Future replications of both the December and July Canadian visitor spending surveys will include the participation of retail stores, campgrounds, gas stations, hotels & motels, marinas, recreation centers, and restaurants.

      Careful consideration should be given to the exact survey periods.  The number of days and the particular days of the week used for the survey periods should be held constant for each replication of the December and July Canadian visitor-spending surveys.  The survey periods should be 9 consecutive days, beginning on a Saturday and ending on a Sunday.  The approximate timing of the two survey periods, prior to Christmas and the end of July, should also be maintained.