Modification 6 to the synopsis is being issued to release Amendment 0004 to Solicitation DG1350-06-RP-0029, for the In-Flight Survey of International Travelers for the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism.

This purpose of this Amendment is to:



1) Provide official responses to additional vendor questions.

2) Correct a numerical typo in Section B.2. The line stating (The $624,000 is inclusive of all Other Direct Costs, i.e. travel.) shall now reflect the correct IDIQ annual ceiling amount of $642,000, as referenced earlier in the paragraph.

3) Provide documents from a DHS-commisioned study of various potential methodologies of surveying, for informational purposes.



See Amendment 0004 for attachments and further information.



The deadline to submit questions has passed. Offerors are requested to footnote any further questions or assumptions in their proposals.



The Proposal Due Date remains unchanged as 4:00 pm EDT May 1, 2006. Offerors must provide a signed copy of this Amendment with their proposal.





SYNOPSIS FOR SOLICITATION DG1350-06-RP-0029





The Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Travel and Tourism requires contractor services for the development and support of a process to administer a monthly In-Flight Survey of International Travelers. Competed in accordance with FAR Part 15. This survey will provide statistical market data about the international air passenger travel market. This is a pre-solicitation notice.



The data collected by this survey reflects the characteristics of the international travel population, with the collections proportionately coming from markets for inbound travel as well as destinations visited by U.S. travelers abroad. This survey is the sole source for the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) estimates for travel and passenger fare exports and imports, as well as multiple other Federal and private sector industry clients. Quarterly estimates are produced from the survey based on reporting of monthly samples. By distributing the sample throughout each month of the quarter, the seasonal variances in travel patterns are reflected in the survey. Due to the seasonal travel patterns of international travelers, the third quarter tends to be the largest survey period.



This acquisition is set aside exclusively for small business concerns under authority of Federal Acquisitions Regulation (FAR) Subpart 6.203. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541910 and the related size standard is $6.0 million. A solicitation will be posted to this Government wide point of entry on or about Tuesday, 21 February, 2006. The Government estimates a fixed price contract to be awarded based on competition for one twelve month period and four twelve month option periods. The estimated level of effort based on historical experience is 70,000-95,000 respondents per year. There is considerable demand for a much larger sample, and potential contractors will be encouraged to develop strategies and methods to increase the sample of the program given financial constraints due to funding available.



The Government foresees holding a pre-proposal conference for this acquisition approximately mid-March, during which potential contractors may obtain better understanding of the work required. Further details relating to date, time, and location will be included in the solicitation. Further information on the In-Flight Survey program can be found at the OTTI website: http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/programs/ifs/index.html

SEE NOTE 1