The System of National Accounts and its Treatment of Tourism

1. The System of National Accounts and its Treatment of Tourism Winfield Griffith Caribbean Tourism Organization

2. Introduction • International Definition of Tourism • Traveling to and staying in places outside usual environment • Stay no more than one year • * UN/WTO Recommendations on Tourism Statistics - 1994

3. Tourism a Substantial Economic Phenomenon • Grown in enormous proportion over the last two decades • Boosting Domestic Value Added • Employing large numbers • Providing much of the foreign exchange earnings • Contributing significantly to government revenues • Generating investment capital

4. State of Tourism Economic Statistics • Scanty and often non-existent • Limited for users (Governments, businesses and others)

5. Requirements for Economic Statistics of Tourism • Greater regularity – preferably on continuous basis • Greater reliability • Greater internal consistency and international comparability

6. Nature of Tourism Economic Activity • Demand oriented • Supply created in response • Best studied within a macro-economic accounting framework

7. Tourism and the SNA • Towards an integrated framework the SNA provides: - guidelines • concepts • Definitions • Classifications • Accounting rules • Accounts and tables

8. SNA Presents • Production Accounts • Income and Outlay Accounts • Capital Formation Accounts • Flow of Funds

9. What is a Tourism Satellite Account? • Account of Macroeconomic Aggregates • Describing size and importance of tourism • Value Added and GDP • Detailed data on tourism consumption and the components of its matching supply – domestic supply and imports • Set within the supply and use tables of the SNA • Current and constant prices • Detailed Production accounts of the industries of tourism • Incl. Employment, inter-industry linkages and capital formation

10. What is a Tourism Satellite Account?(cont’d) • Basic information for Tourism Economic Impact assessment models • Link economic and other quantitative information – e.g arrivals, length of stay, etc

11. Rationale for a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) • National Accounts concepts specific • Tourism activities cross-cutting

12. TSA Manual • Provides framework only • Recommendations not set in stone • Countries must use initiative • Determine own characteristic and non-characteristic products • Recommended guide SICTA and TPC

13. Definitions of Tourism • Domestic Tourism – Travel within own country • Domestic Tourism Consumption • Inbound Tourism • Outbound Tourism • Internal Tourism & National Tourism • International Tourism

14. Other important definitions • Establishment; Industry/activity & sector • Tourism Characteristic • Tourism Connected • Tourism Specific • Tourism Consumption

15. Content of the TSA • Presented in 10 summary tables • 1. Inbound Tourism Consumption by product • 2. Domestic Tourism Consumption by product • 3. Outbound tourism consumption by product • 4a. Total tourism consumption by product • 4b. Tourism consumption by products and forms of tourism • 5. Production accounts of the tourism industries

16. Content of the TSA (cont’d) • Presented in 10 summary tables • 6. Supply of services and tourism consumption of services by products • 7. Employment in the Tourism Industries • 8. Tourism Gross Fixed Capital Formation • 9. Tourism Collective consumption • 10a Physical Indicators • 10b.Number of establishment according to number employed

17. TSA Extensions • Regional Accounts • - a large country phenomenon • - implies discrete or independent administrative units • Quarterly TS indicators • - allows observation of seasonality

18. CONCLUSION • Importance of economic framework for vital tourism activity recognised • Methods suggested and guidelines indicated • Need to assess our psychological and physical readiness to go forward.