[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14726-14727]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05635]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Survey of International Air Travelers

AGENCY: International Trade Administration, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Information Collection; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB).

DATES: To ensure consideration, comments regarding this proposed 
information collection must be received on or before May 17, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments by 
mail to Richard Champley, Program Manager, ITA, 
[email protected], (202) 482-4753 or Claudia Wolfe, 
Contracting Officer Representative (COR), ITA, [email protected], 
(202) 482-4555 or [email protected]. Please reference OMB Control 
Number 0625-0227 in the subject line of your comments. Do not submit 
Confidential Business Information or otherwise sensitive or protected 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Richard Champley, Program Manager, or Claudia Wolfe, Contracting 
Officer Representative (COR), ITA National Travel & Tourism Office 
(NTTO). Contact information: [email protected] (202) 482-4753 
or [email protected] (202) 482-4555.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    The ``Survey of International Air Travelers'' (Survey) program, 
administered by the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) of the 
International Trade Administration provides source data required to: 
(1) Estimate international travel and passenger fare exports, imports 
and the trade balance for the United States, (2) comply with the U.S. 
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 (Pub. L. 111-145), collect a one percent 
sample of inbound travelers, analyze and report information to 
government and industry stakeholders, and support the increase of U.S. 
exports, (3) to comply with the 1961, 1981, and 1996 travel and tourism 
related acts to collect and publish comprehensive international travel 
and tourism, statistics and other marketing information, and (4) 
support the continuation of the Travel & Tourism Satellite Accounts for 
the United States, which provide the only spending and employment 
figures for the industry, and (5) to support the goals of objectives of 
the National Travel & Tourism Strategy.
    The Survey program contains the core data that is collected, 
analyzed, and communicated by NTTO with other government agencies, 
associations and businesses that share the same objective of increasing 
U.S. international travel exports. The Survey assists NTTO in assessing 
the economic impact of international travel on state and local 
economies, providing visitation estimates, key market intelligence, and 
identifying traveler and trip characteristics. The U.S. Department of 
Commerce assists travel industry enterprises to increase international 
travel and passenger fare exports for the country as well as outbound 
travel on U.S. carriers. The Survey program provides the only available 
estimates of nonresident visitation to the states and cities within the 
United States, as well as U.S. resident travel abroad.
    A revised survey instrument (questionnaire) (English version plus 
its translations into eleven foreign languages) was implemented in 
2012. It reflects input from over 70 respondents, including: Travel 
Industry (airlines, travel associations, destinations, lodging); 
Consultants; Financial Firms; Educational Institutions; and other U.S. 
Government Agencies. A minor (`non-substantive') change was implemented 
in 2016 to better reflect the visitor's entry experience into the 
United States. This was requested by the United States Travel and 
Tourism Advisory Board to measure compliance with U.S. National Goals.
    The 2012 and 2016 revised Survey questionnaire reflect changes in 
various questions relating to: Trip purpose; payment methods; booking/
information sources; additional package components, health care/
vaccinations, travel insurance information, additional transportation 
utilized, assessment of the visitor's entry and overall experience; and 
intentions for further travel to the United States; and ethnicity/race. 
Several questions from the pre-existing 1996 questionnaire were 
eliminated to further streamline the survey.
    Changes envisioned are: (1) Enhanced testing of the QR code/Mobile 
phone approach to leverage international airlines' growing capability 
of offering international Wi-Fi to its on-board passengers; (2) 
evaluation of a `short form' version of the paper questionnaire (23 of 
the existing 33 questions) to reduce burden and improve passenger 
response rates when time is limited in the boarding area due to covid-
19 restrictions; (3) evaluation of a ``land version'' of the 
questionnaire should the U.S. Department of Commerce implement a 
surveying process at the U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico borders. (Note: 
The government of Canada has discontinued surveying Canadian residents 
who visited the United States and the government of Mexico does not 
disclose details on Mexican visitors to the United States. The U.S. 
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 has mandated that the U.S. Department of 
Commerce implement a visitor data collection program on the southern 
border.)

II. Method of Collection

    The survey instrument/questionnaire (`Survey of International Air 
Travelers', a/k/a SIAT) continues to be in paper format and is self-
administered by the passenger who volunteers to take the survey, either 
while in the departure gate area or on-board the flight. The flights 
are randomly selected, and this approach is described as `cluster 
sampling.' The majority (95%) of the passenger surveys are collected in 
U.S. airport departure gate areas. About 5% of all the passenger 
surveys are collected during flight (on-board) post departure (Canada 
has been included as part of the program in 2020). U.S. and foreign 
flag airlines that volunteer to participate in the Survey program 
enable the collection either in U.S. departure gate areas or on-board 
flights.
    NTTO is planning to change the format to electronic or to an 
equally statistically valid process once compelling results have been 
attained. To date there have been five `e-Survey' tests: The first test 
was in partnership with Global Distribution Systems (GDS); the second 
and third tests were with major airlines in their respective boarding 
areas to leverage passenger's personal electronic devices (PED) and Wi-
Fi capabilities in the airports and on-board certain flights; the 
fourth test used `tablet' devices to capture

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passenger responses in the airport gate area at a major gateway 
airport; and the fifth test again tested passenger PEDs (mobile phone) 
through use of a `QR' code since there have been improvements in Wi-Fi 
capabilities. Other tests are planned in the foreseeable future based 
on recommendations from the United States Travel and Tourism Advisory 
Board (TTAB).
    The 2020 Pandemic (Corona Virus Disease 2019 or COVID-19) brought 
devastation to the United States and world economies. The travel and 
tourism industries were particularly hit hard, creating havoc with 
airline and airport-based data collection methods. International travel 
restrictions, cessation of international flight operations and airport 
barriers to entry for non-passenger personnel severely limited the U.S. 
Department of Commerce's ability to survey the number of passengers 
that were able to travel. (Note: travel to/from the United States was 
down -88% and -78%, respectively, in 2020).
    Use of the QR code/Mobile phone approach was used selectively in 
situations when passenger respondents declined the paper survey due to 
perceived COVID-19 transmission concerns. In other situations, U.S. 
Department of Commerce field services administered a short form version 
of the questionnaire when time at the gate was limited. (Note: field 
service personnel were attired with appropriate personal protective 
equipment (PPE) and followed strict mitigation protocols).

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0625-0227.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Extension of a current information collection.
    Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 300,000 due to mandate of the U.S. 
Travel Promotion Act of 2009 which requires a `one percent' sample of 
overseas arrivals.
    Estimated Time per Response: 15 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 75,000.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $0.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary.
    Legal Authority: Public Law 111-145.

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the U.S. Department of 
Commerce to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection 
is necessary for the proper functions of the U.S. Department of 
Commerce, including whether the information will have practical 
utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy of our estimate of the time and cost 
burden for this proposed collection, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the 
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and 
(d) Minimize the reporting burden on those who are to respond, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in its request 
to OMB to approve this Information Collection Request (ICR). Before 
including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2021-05635 Filed 3-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DR-P