Exp stats > tourism satellite accounts EN REVAMP

Why are these statistics needed?

Tourism statistics, typically collected from economic actors in the accommodation sector and households, give a comprehensive insight into visitor flows within and between countries. However, these statistics do not provide an understanding of the (macro-) economic dimension of tourism and its impact on the economy and labour market.

This gap is addressed by the internationally accepted framework of tourism satellite accounts (TSA), which is a joint effort by the United Nations (UN), the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), Eurostat, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The TSA offer a methodology for the collection of economic data for the tourism sector, for instance on gross value added or jobs created by tourism industries in the European economies.

The insights that can be obtained through this approach will provide valuable information for policy makers, researchers, and businesses. This is also why the compilation of TSA has been high on the political agenda for several decades, most recently stressed by the European Commission’s industrial strategy implementation paper Transition Pathway for Tourism (2022).

Why are they experimental?

In the early 2000s, the theoretical foundations for TSA were established by the TSA recommended methodological framework (TSA:RMF). Despite TSA being a mature product in some European countries, its implementation is still under development in most countries. Overall, TSA has a lower level of maturity than the well-established European statistics on tourism, despite the efforts made at international level and by individual countries.

At European level, TSA are still considered as experimental statistics due to the

  • lack of harmonisation and comparability across EU countries
  • incomplete coverage, in terms of availability of data of EU countries and level of detail of the data for those countries that compile TSA
  • imperfect implementation of the methodological framework because sources and methods for TSA are still work-in-progress in many countries.

Therefore, the EU aggregates for TSA, produced by Eurostat, are still of an experimental nature.

How are they produced?

TSA comprise 10 tables. Its production is based on the TSA:RMF.

TSA is not compiled using a single source, for instance a survey, but uses a variety of data sources as main or auxiliary input.

TSA data at European level are obtained using a common reporting template that summarises the key elements of the 10 TSA tables. In this template, European countries can submit on a voluntary basis there available TSA data to Eurostat. This exercise is repeated every 3 years.

Before the experimental TSA data can be released, they are validated via peer reviews conducted by TSA experts from the national statistical institutes. Access to the statistics

For further details, please consult our  methodological note.

Access to the statistics

Feedback

To help Eurostat improve these experimental statistics, users and researchers are kindly invited to give us their feedback by email:

  • What have you used this data for?
  • How do you assess the frequency, namely three-yearly updates?
  • How do you assess the scope and the contents of the data, in particular the subset of TSA indicators selected for these experimental statistics?