Statistics Explained

Archive:European Neighbourhood Policy - South - tourism statistics

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Data extracted in December 2014. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: December 2015.

This article is part of an online publication and presents information relating to tourism in the European Union (EU) and the countries that form the European Neighbourhood Policy-South (ENP-South) region, namely, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia. It highlights recent developments over the period 2003–13, with information on capacity (the number of bed places) and international demand (the number of arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar accommodation) for inbound tourism as well as information on the number of outbound trips made by tourists.

Table 1: Number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments, 2003–13
(thousands) - Source: Eurostat (med_to22) and (tour_cap_nat)
Figure 1: Developments for bed places in hotels and similar establishments, 2003–13 (1)
(2003 = 100) - Source: Eurostat (med_to22)
Figure 2: Capacity of bed places in hotels and similar establishments, 2003 and 2013 (1)
(number of bed places per 1 000 inhabitants) - Source: Eurostat (med_to22), (med_ps112), (tour_cap_nat) and (demo_pjan)
Table 2: Number of arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar establishments, 2003–13
(thousands) - Source: Eurostat (med_to12) and (tour_occ_arnat)
Figure 3: Developments for arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar establishments, 2003–13 (1)
(2003 = 100) - Source: Eurostat (med_to12)
Figure 4: Arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments relative to the number of bed places, 2003 and 2013 (1)
(arrivals of non-residents per bed place) - Source: Eurostat (med_to12), (med_to22), (tour_occ_arnat) and (tour_cap_nat)
Figure 5: Arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments relative to national population, 2003 and 2013 (1)
(arrivals of non-residents per 1 000 inhabitants) - Source: Eurostat (med_to12), (med_ps112), (tour_occ_arnat) and (demo_pjan)
Table 3: Number of trips taken by outbound tourists, 2003–13
(thousands) - Source: Eurostat (med_to11) and (tour_dem_tttot)
Figure 6: Developments for the number of trips taken by outbound tourists, 2003–13 (1)
(2003 = 100) - Source: Eurostat (med_to11) and (tour_dem_tttot)
Figure 7: Number of trips taken by outbound tourists relative to national population, 2003 and 2013 (1)
(average number of trips per 1 000 inhabitants) - Source: Eurostat (med_to11), (med_ps112), (tour_dem_tttot) and (demo_pjan)

Main statistical findings

There were over a million bed places in hotels and similar establishments across the ENP-South countries

The number of bed places available in hotels and similar establishments provides one measure of a country’s capacity to attract tourists; note that official tourism statistics include business travellers as tourists alongside individuals travelling for pleasure or other reasons. The 10 ENP-South countries had a combined total of 1.1 million bed places (the latest information for most countries relates to 2012 or 2013, although some data are older). By comparison, there were 13.2 million bed places in hotels and similar establishments in the EU-28 in 2013.

Among the ENP-South countries, Egypt (2012 data), Tunisia (2012 data) and Morocco had the highest number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments, over 200 thousand each. In Israel, Algeria (2012 data) and Lebanon (2012 data) there were around 100 thousand bed places, while there were just under 50 thousand bed places in Jordan (2012 data) and Syria (2007 data). The smallest levels of capacity were recorded for Libya (2010 data) and Palestine (2012 data), with 29 thousand and 14 thousand bed places respectively (see Table 1).

The number of bed places grew in most ENP-South countries in recent years

Figure 1 provides information on the development of the number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments over the period 2003–13. There was almost no change in the number of bed places in Israel, while capacity fell in Egypt, particularly since 2009. Elsewhere, the number of bed places rose, most notably (in percentage terms) in Palestine and Morocco where the capacity nearly doubled. For comparison, the number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments in the EU-28 increased by 19 % during the period 2003–13.

Figure 2 presents one measure for analysing the number of bed places in hotels and similar establishments; it provides this information in relation to the size of the national population. The EU-28 recorded a higher capacity of bed places than any of the ENP-South countries — using this measure — with an average of 26 bed places in hotels and similar establishments per 1 000 inhabitants in 2013. Tunisia (2010 data) came closest to the EU-28 average, with 23 bed places in hotels and similar establishments per 1 000 inhabitants, reflecting the importance of tourism to the Tunisian economy. In Israel the ratio was about half the level in the EU-28, while in Jordan (2012 data) and Morocco it was about one quarter of the EU-28 level.

Large fall in the number of non-resident arrivals in hotels and similar establishments in Egypt since 2010

The largest number of arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments across the ENP-South countries (see Table 2 for data availability) was recorded by Egypt, with 6.5 million arrivals in 2012; this was about half the number of arrivals recorded in 2010 and this fall reflects the impact of the political instability on tourism demand. Tunisia (2009 data) recorded the second highest level of arrivals at just over 5 million in 2009, followed by Morocco (2012 data) and Israel with more than 3 million. These figures can be compared with a total of 262 million arrivals of non-residents at hotels and similar establishments in the EU-28 in 2013.

Figure 3 shows the development of the number of arrivals of non-residents staying in hotels and similar establishments during the period 2003–13. There was an increase in the number of arrivals of non-residents in all of the ENP-South countries for which data are available. By far the strongest increase (in percentage terms) was recorded for Palestine, the number of arrivals increasing 15-fold over these 10 years, with particularly strong growth between 2003 and 2008.Although less spectacular, the increase in the number of non-resident arrivals in Israel was also high, up by around 250 %. Between 2003 and 2007 the number of non-resident arrivals in Syria more than doubled. Between 2003 and 2012 the overall increase recorded for Morocco was 46 %, just above the 42 % increase recorded for the EU-28 (between 2003 and 2013), while in Tunisia the number of non-resident arrivals increased by 24 % between 2003 and 2009. Although a time series before 2009 is not available for Egypt, the impact of the political turmoil in recent years can be seen: by 2009 the number of non-resident arrivals in Egypt had doubled when compared with 2003, but thereafter fell back such that by 2012 there were just 16 % more arrivals than in 2003.

An alternative analysis is presented in Figure 4: it shows the number of non-resident arrivals in hotels and similar establishments per bed place. Caution is advised when interpreting these figures; they do not represent occupancy rates, as they do not take into account the length of the stay. Across the EU-28, this ratio averaged 19.8 in 2013, while higher ratios were recorded in all of the ENP-South countries for which data are available (various years — see Figure 4 for details) apart from Morocco (2012 data). This ratio peaked in Palestine at 40.4 non-resident arrivals per bed-place, more than double the EU-28 average. The ratio of non-resident arrivals to bed places increased during the period covered in the EU-28 and each of the ENP-South countries, again with the exception of Morocco.

Figure 5 shows the number of arrivals of non-residents in hotels and similar establishments relative to the number of inhabitants. In the EU-28 there were 517 arrivals of non-residents per 1 000 inhabitants in 2013; this marked an increase of 37 % when compared with the same ratio for 2003. Among the ENP-South countries, the ratio of non-resident arrivals to population was systematically lower than in the EU-28. The highest values were recorded for Tunisia and Israel, with 483 and 385 non-resident arrivals per 1 000 inhabitants in 2009 and 2013 respectively. The ratio of non-resident arrivals to the number of inhabitants was less than one quarter of the ratio in the EU-28 for the remaining ENP-South countries for which data are available. However, the number of non-resident arrivals relative to population increased at a much faster pace in several of the ENP-South countries than in the EU-28: the largest gains (in percentage terms) were recorded in Palestine and Israel.

The number of outbound trips taken by tourists from Egypt was close to 11 million in 2012

This final section details the outward flow of tourists travelling abroad. There were 287 million trips made by EU-28 tourists to destinations outside of their own Member State in 2012; note that EU-28 data for this particular indicator only refer to persons aged 15 and over.

Among the ENP-South countries for which data are available the highest number of outbound trips taken by tourists was recorded for Egypt — the most populous of the ENP-South countries — at almost 11 million in 2012. There were just under 5 million outbound trips made by tourists from Israel in 2013, while the number of outbound trips made from Algeria and Jordan (both 2012 data) was below 2 million (see Table 3).

Developments for the number of outbound tourist trips between 2003 and 2013 are shown in Figure 6. With the exceptions of Algeria and Israel there was an uneven expansion in the number of outbound tourist trips. Egypt recorded the strongest overall growth, peaking in 2010 before the number of departures dropped back strongly in 2011 and recovered somewhat in 2012. In Jordan strong growth from 2007 onwards also peaked in 2010 before dropping back in 2011 and 2012. Apart from a small fall in 2007, the number of departures from Algeria increased every year between 2003 and 2012. Departures from Israel also grew quite steadily, falling back slightly in three years between 2003 and 2013 but growing in all others. Among the ENP-South countries for which a relatively long time series is available, Lebanon was the only one that recorded a lower number of departures in the most recent year for which data are available when compared with the situation in 2003: the number of departures fell strongly between 2004 and 2006, before recovering to a peak in 2010, followed by a subsequent decline to end in 2013 around 10 % below the 2003 level.

Figure 7 presents the number of outbound trips taken by tourists relative to the size of the population. In the EU-28 there were, on average, 567 trips per 1 000 inhabitants in 2012; note that the tourist trip figures relate to persons aged 15 and over.

Lebanon recorded the highest number of outbound trips among the ENP-South countries, at 607 trips per 1 000 inhabitants in 2012, followed by Israel with 585 trips per 1 000 inhabitants. These were the only two ENP-South countries (for which data are available) to record ratios above the EU-28 average: in all other ENP-South countries shown in Figure 7 the ratio was less than half the EU-28 average.

Data sources and availability

Tourism, in a statistical context, refers to the activity of visitors taking a trip to a destination outside their usual environment, for less than a year. It can be for any main purpose, including business, leisure or other personal reasons other than to be employed in the place visited. A tourist is a visitor that stays overnight (at least one night).

Within the EU, a system of tourism statistics was established through Council Directive 95/57/EC of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism. This legal basis requires EU Member States to provide a regular set of comparable tourism statistics. Following amendments in 2004 and 2006, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted Regulation 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism in 2011 (repealing Council Directive 95/57/EC).

Tourism statistics in the EU consist of two main components: on the one hand, statistics relating to capacity and occupancy (supply side tourism statistics); on the other, statistics relating to tourism demand. In most EU Member States, the former are collected via surveys filled in by accommodation establishments, while the latter are mainly collected via traveller surveys at border crossings or through household surveys. Statistics on tourism demand refer to tourist participation, in other words, trips of at least one overnight stay during the reference period.

The data for ENP-South countries are supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each country on a voluntary basis. The data that are presented in this article result from an annual data collection cycle that has been established by Eurostat. These statistics are available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a range of different indicators covering most socio-economic areas.

Context

Tourism has the potential to contribute towards employment and economic growth, as well as to development in rural, peripheral or less-developed areas. Infrastructure created for tourism purposes contributes to local development, while jobs that are created or maintained can help counteract industrial or rural decline. Sustainable tourism involves the preservation and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage, ranging from the arts to local gastronomy or the preservation of biodiversity.

In cooperation with its ENP partners, Eurostat has the responsibility ‘to promote and implement the use of European and internationally recognised standards and methodology for the production of statistics necessary for developing and monitoring policy achievements in all policy areas’. Eurostat undertakes the task of coordinating EU efforts to increase the statistical capacity of the ENP countries. Additional information on the policy context of the ENP is provided here.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

Tourism (med_to)
Main flows (med_to11)
Arrivals by type of accommodation (med_to12)
Nights spent by type of accommodation (med_to13)
Accommodation establishments (med_to21)
Number of bed-places (med_to22)
Monthly data on tourism industries (tour_indm)
Annual data on tourism industries (tour_inda)
Annual data on trips of EU residents (tour_dem)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

External links

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