World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (VALR) Visitor Study

National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Social Science Program
Expedited Approval for NPS-Sponsored Public Surveys
1.
2.

Project Title ⎢ World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (VALR) visitor study
Submission Date:
Abstract:

February 10, 2011

World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (VALR) has a new visitor center complex.
Currently, free timed tickets to visit the Memorial are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. A
maximum of 300 people are allowed on the Memorial at any given time. Throughout the day, 150
people are transported to and from the Memorial via the mainland dock. A maximum of 3,000
people visit the Memorial each day. VALR has requested the Visitor Services Project’s (VSP)
assistance to assess their ticket system.

3. Principal Investigator Contact Information
First Name:
Title:
Affiliation:

Street Address:
City:

4.

Lena

Last Name:

Le

NPS Visitor Services Project (VSP) Assistant Director
NPS Visitor Services Project, PSU,
College of Natural Resources,
University of Idaho
6th & Line Streets, Room 17D
Moscow

Phone:

208-885-7863

Email:

lenale@uidaho.edu

State:
Fax:

ID

Zip
code:

83844-1139

208-885-4261

Park or Program Liaison Contact Information
First Name:

Paul

Last Name:

Title:

Superintendent

Park:

World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument

Street Address:
City:
Phone:

DePrey

1 Arizona Memorial Place
Honolulu, Hawaii
808-423-7300

State:
Email:

HI
Paul_DePrey@nps.gov

Zip code:

96818

Project Information

5. Park Where

World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument (VALR)

Research is to be
Conducted:

6. Survey Dates:
and

March 1, 2011
May 1, 2011

to
to

March 7, 2011
May 7, 2011

7. Type of Information Collection Instrument (Check ALL that Apply)
‰

Mail-Back
Questionnaire

‰

Other
(explain)

8. Survey

Justification:
(Use as much
space as needed;
if necessary
include
additional
explanation on a
separate page.)

X On-Site
Questionnaire

Face-to-Face
Interview

‰

Telephone
Survey

X Focus Groups

The National Park Service Act of 1916, 38 Stat 535, 16 USC 1, et seq., requires that the National
Park Service (NPS) preserve the national parks for the use and enjoyment of present and future
generations. At the field level, this means resource preservation, public education, facility maintenance and
operation, and physical developments that are necessary for public use, health, and safety. Allocation of
funding is to be roughly in proportion to the seasonally adjusted volume of use (P. L. 88-578, Sect. 6)
and in consideration of visitor characteristics and activities for determining carrying capacity (92 Stat.
3467; P. L. 95-625, Sect. 604 11/10/78). Other federal rules (National Environmental Policy Act,
1969 and NPS guidelines) require visitor use data in impact assessment of development on users and
resources as part of each park's general management plan.
Managerial Justification
Currently, free timed tickets to visit World War II Valor in the Pacific National
Monument are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis only. Tickets are given out
for specified times throughout the day since the boat that transports visitors to the
Memorial holds a maximum of 150 people. A maximum of 300 people are allowed on the
Memorial at any given time. Throughout the day, the boat takes 150 people out to the
Memorial and brings 150 people back to the mainland dock, with a maximum of 3,000
people able to visit the Memorial in a day. Visitors are advised to arrive early to obtain a
ticket, often resulting in long lines early in the morning. Visitors arriving later in the day
often cannot obtain tickets, especially during the busy summer months. The Memorial
receives approximately 4,500 visitors per day during the peak season and approximately
2,000 people per day during shoulder seasons. The total visitation is about 1.3 million
visitors per year.
The park’s comment cards show that visitors’ most frequent complaints concern wait
time for tickets and the noise level at the memorial. There is no formal evaluation of the
system in place. A new system might be needed to improve visitors’ time efficiency, and
thereby improve the quality of the experience. To fill their waiting time, visitors can visit
other Pearl Harbor attractions (not operated by the National Park Service) adding to the
experience of visiting the Memorial. A new ticket/reservation system might be needed to
improve visitors’ time efficiency, thereby improving the quality of the park experience.
This research aims to:
• investigate the current ticketing system to identify the areas that may need
improvement;
• investigate other existing ticketing systems to recommend potential solutions
to VALR;
• make recommendations about ways to provide visitors with a whole harbor
experience by incorporating visits with other sites.

A mixed method approach is designed to collect both quantifiable information from
the visitors and in-depth qualitative information from visitors, park partners and tour
companies.
The survey card is designed to collect data from visitors, including wait time, other
sites visited, individual perceptions of crowding, and individual opinions on preferred type
of park experience. Visitors will be randomly selected to participate in the study as they
wait in line for the shuttle boat to take them back from the memorial.
The focus groups sessions will be conducted to gather information from the
employees and park partners’ at the Pearl Harbor VALR Monument. The NPS is
interested in understanding how the ticketing system can be improved from the
perspective of tour guides and concessionaires at the Monument. Before now, the NPS
managers had anecdotal knowledge to access the current ticketing system. At this point
the managers would like to have qualitative data that can be used and documented in
future management plans.
9. Survey

Methodology:
(Use as much
space as needed;
if necessary
include
additional
explanation on a
separate page.)

(a) Respondent universe:

The respondent universe will be visitors to VALR, age 16 and older, and representatives
of park partners and tour companies within the Pearl Harbor area, during the study
periods. A systematic sample of visitors will be contacted by VSP-trained interviewers.
(b) Sampling plan/procedures

Survey card: The survey design and sampling plan for this visitor study is based upon
a drop-off/retrieve method as used in Vincent and Santos (1996) and Le et al (2006).
The drop-off/retrieve method has been shown to increase response rates, improve
accuracy, and reduce cost and burden hours in tourism studies. Most questions have
been included in other VSP questionnaires or appear in the NPS Known Pool of
Questions. A systematic sampling procedure, based on the park’s visitation statistics
from the previous year, will require intercepting every nth visitor to participate in the
study. Selected visitors will be given a survey card and a clipboard while waiting for
shuttle boat to take them back from the memorial. If the visitor is not interested in
the participating in the survey the interviewer will ask three questions and make one
observation that will be recording and used in determining any non-response bias if
needed. The interviewers will then come to retrieve the questionnaires on the boat or
on the dock at the end of the boat ride.
Each interviewer will receive 1-1/2 hours of training on how to select, approach, and
conduct interviews. This training will cover every aspect of the interview process.
Quality control will be ensured by monitoring interviewers in the field, and by
checking their paperwork at the end of each day of surveying.
Focus groups: The non NPS employees of Pearl Harbor attractions (i.e. tour
operators, concessionaires, and volunteers) will be invited to attend scheduled focus
group sessions. The focus groups will be conducted in the park’s conference room
from March 4-9, 2011. Each session will last between 60 to 90 minutes. We anticipate
hosting at least 6 sessions during this sampling period.
VALR staff will provide VSP researchers with a contact list of the non-NPS
employees and volunteers. The VSP will be responsible for contacting and extending
the invitation to participate in the focus groups. We will plan to have at least 8 people
participate in each of the 6 focus group session.

(c) Instrument administration

Comment card: The initial contact with visitors will be used to explain the study and
determine if visitors are interested in participating (see attached script). This should
take approximately 1 minute. If a group is encountered, the survey interviewer will ask
the individual within the group who has the next birthday to serve as the respondent
for the study. For those who decline to participate in the survey, they will be asked 3
questions to collect information that will be used in the non-response bias analysis
(see questions below). The number of visitors refusing to participate will be recorded
and used to calculate the overall response rate for the collection. Survey participants
will be asked to complete a questionnaire on site.
Focus groups: Focus groups will be administered by experienced VSP staff. The
focus group scripts are attached.
(d) Expected response rate/confidence levels:
A total of 2000 visitors will be intercepted to ask for participation in the onsite survey, of
which 1600 is expected to complete the on-site survey card. The number of refusals will
be recorded and reported in a survey log, and will be used in calculating the response rate.
With this sample size, there will be 95% confidence that the day-use survey findings will
be accurate to within 2.5 percentage points. Thus, the proposed sample size will be
adequate for bivariate comparisons and will allow for comparisons between study sites
and more sophisticated multivariate analysis if deemed necessary. For dichotomous
response variables, estimates will be accurate within the margins of error and confidence
intervals will be somewhat larger for questions with more than two response categories.

Focus group components aim to generate qualitative data to the point where no new
ideas/comments are being generated). The confidence level concept does not apply.
(e) Strategies for dealing with potential non-response bias:

During the initial contact, the interviewer will ask each visitor three questions taken from
the survey. These questions will be used to report any non-response bias. The nonresponse bias check will be used for the survey component only.
1) How old are you?
2) What is your zip code (or name of country)?
3) Are you with a commercial guided tour group (cruise ship, etc.) today?
3) Gender (by observation)
Responses will be recorded in the survey a log for every visitor survey contact. Results of
the non-response bias check will be described in a report and the implications for park
planning and management will be discussed.
(f) Description of any pre-testing and peer review of the methods and/or
instrument (recommended):
The questionnaire format and many of the questions have been used in 214 previous VSP
survey instruments. Questionnaires are regularly peer reviewed by NPS managers and
university professors.

10 COMMENT CARD

11

Total number of
initial contacts for onsite comment card

2000

Estimated time (mins.)
to complete initial
contact

1

Estimated
Burden
Hours

33

Expected number
completing on-site
comment card

1600

Estimated time (mins.)
to complete the
questionnaire

10

Estimated
Burden
Hours

267

48

Estimated time (mins.)
Initial Contact

5

76

to complete focus
groups (mins)

Estimated
Burden
Hours

90
Total Burden

376

FOCUS GROUP
Expected number
participating in focus
groups

12
13.

Reporting Plan:

The results of the studies will be presented in internal agency reports for NPS
managers. Response frequencies will be tabulated and measures of central tendency
computed (e.g., mean, median, mode, as appropriate). The reports will be archived with
the NPS Social Science Program for inclusion in the Social Science Studies Collection.
They will also be posted on the Park Studies Unit VSP website at:
http:/psu.uidaho.edu/vsp.reports.htm. Hard copies will be available upon request.