International Passenger Survey
What is the International Passenger Survey?
The International Passenger Survey (IPS) is a survey of a random sample of passengers entering and leaving the UK by air, sea or the Channel Tunnel. Over a quarter of million face-to-face interviews are carried out each year with passengers entering and leaving the UK through the main airports, seaports and the Channel Tunnel.
Why is the survey carried out?
Data from the survey are used:
in compiling the travel account of the balance of payments;
in estimating the numbers and characteristics of migrants into and out of the UK; and
to provide information on international tourism.
The survey has a variety of customers. Main users of the data are:
the Office for National Statistics (ONS);
the Department for Culture, Media and Sport;
VisitBritain, the authority for tourism in Britain; and
the National Tourist Boards.
Other users of IPS data include:
HM Customs and Excise;
the Department for Transport;
the Department of Health;
the Home Office;
the Civil Aviation Authority; and
Eurotunnel.
How is the survey carried out?
Passengers are sampled on all major routes in and out of the UK, and travellers on these routes make up around 90 per cent of all travellers entering and leaving the UK. The sampling procedures for air, sea and tunnel passengers are slightly different but the underlying principle for each is similar. In the absence of a readily available sampling frame, time shifts or crossings are sampled at the first stage. During these shifts or crossings, the travellers are counted as they pass a particular point (for example, after passing through passport control) then travellers are systematically chosen at fixed intervals from a random start. Interviewing is carried out throughout the year and over a quarter of a million face-to-face interviews are conducted each year, and represents about 1 in every 500 passengers.
The majority of interviews are carried out within the UK terminal, however at some locations it is not practical to do this so interviews take place instead on board the ferry, train or at the quayside overseas.
The interview usually take 3-5 minutes and contains questions about passengers’ country of residence (for overseas residents) or country of visit (for UK residents), the reason for their visit, and details of their expenditure and fares. There are additional questions for passengers migrating to or from the UK. While much of the content of the interview remains the same from one year to the next, new questions are sometimes added or appear periodically on the survey.
As one of the main aims of the survey is to provide information of people migrating to and from the UK, in addition to the main fieldwork, special shifts are carried out to increase the number of migrants interviewed.
Where can the results be found?
IPS results are published by Social and Vital Statistics Division of ONS in:
For more information about the results from the International Passenger Survey contact:
IPS Branch Tel: + 44 (0)1633 455286 or email: ips@ons.gov.uk
For more information about SVS or the surveys we carry out contact:
SVS Project Support Branch Tel: +44 (0)20 7533 5500 or e-mail: ssdpsb@ons.gov.uk
This page last revised: Wednesday, 12 March 2008
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