Handbook on the compilation of statistics on sea and air transport in national accounts and balance of payments — 2020 edition - Products Manuals and Guidelines

This Handbook represents the first comprehensive overview of conceptual and practical issues related the compilation of statistics on sea and air transport in national accounts (NA) and balance of payments (BOP).

Estimating the contribution of the use of vessels and aircraft to national economies is challenging due to the complexity of shipping and aviation business models and infrastructure. However, statistical institutions and data users have increasingly recognised the need for comprehensive, reliable and internationally available information on sea and air transport in NA and BOP.

The purpose of this handbook is to increase and improve existing understanding of economic activities in shipping and aviation. This allows interpreting international manuals and guides, relevant for collecting and compiling sea and air transport statistics, in a consistent and coordinated way.

This handbook is the result of the joint work of the members of the Eurostat Task Force on the compilation of statistics on sea and air transport, consisting of experts from Eurostat Unit C5 Balance of Payments and Integrated Global Accounts, European national statistical institutes and central banks, as well as the ECB. This handbook benefits from contributions of experts working in the maritime and aviation cluster.