The Role of Niche Tourism Products in Destination - Repository ...

sample and was significant as it was the first time that cross country festival stakeholder research had been completed.
Conclusions were drawn from within the four country survey sample frame to exemplify festival management innovation and failure.
3.4.2 Primary Research – Key Informants and in depth Interviews
Semi-structured, informal, key informants interviews were conducted with owners and managers of eight wineries in the Margaret
River and Swan Valley regions of Western Australia (Papers 1 and 3). Semi –structured interviewing is one of the most widely used
qualitative techniques as they are somewhat easier to arrange than other forms of data collection and data can be analysed in a
variety of ways (Willig, 2008). Jordan and Gibson (2004) also applaud the flexibility afforded by the use of interviewing as a tourism
research method. They cite key advantages as: providing contextual background for studies using multiple methods (Papers 1-4);
allowing for comparability across interviews; providing rich, descriptive data with illustrative examples of different tourism
experiences; probing of special themes (Paper 7) and ensuring high validity as interviewers can ensure that questions are
understood to elicit more in-depth responses (Jordan and Gibson, 2004, p.222). The interviews lasted up to an hour and revolved
around a set of predetermined research questions concerning the perception of the education experience; the understanding of the
concept of consumer education; the importance of wine education to the winery visit and the perceived benefits of consumer
education.
In-depth interviews were also held with representatives from the major Edinburgh Festivals, public funding agencies and
government bodies (Paper 7). Prior to the interview they were sent a copy of the proposed research agenda for the Edinburgh
Festivals (ACCESS) allowing for critical reflection. At the interviews stakeholders were then asked to analyse the ACCESS