Tourism statistics

The tourism statistics provides statistical information on tourism and is largely part of the official statistics . In addition, the synonymous term tourism statistics is used.

Its aim is the systematic recording, presentation and interpretation with the help of statistical methods. It belongs to descriptive statistics .

Delimitations

The terms accommodation statistics , bed statistics or overnight stays statistics cover sub-areas of tourism statistics.

Statistics on tourism are available at different spatial levels:

• tourist areas (holiday and metropolitan regions)
• Federal states and cantons
• Countries (such as Switzerland, Austria, Germany)
• Large regions (like Europe)
• worldwide

In some areas there is overlap with economic statistics : in the number of accommodation establishments, the number of employees, the turnover achieved, etc. a. m. The "hotel and restaurant trade" also includes inns, restaurants and cafes. In order to better record the tourism industry (including value added and employment effects), tourism satellite accounts (TSA ) are kept in national statistics , based on proposals by EUROSTAT , OECD and UNWTO. In the national accounts, a satellite account is an account that is separate from the core of the account, but corresponds to it - mostly a summary of special areas such as sports or tourism.

Worldwide and European recommendations

In 2008 the World Tourism Organization of the United Nations (UNWTO) published international recommendations for tourism statistics. Eurostat has based its methodological handbook for tourism statistics on this IRTS 2008. The Eurostat manual specifies Regulation (EU) 692/2011 on European tourism statistics.

Terms

Essential concepts

The International Recommendation for Tourism Statistics (IRTS 2008) of the UNWTO and the Methodological Manual for Tourism Statistics (Eurostat) describe as essential concepts:

• Tourism (tourism) as a sub-area of travel (travel): tourism includes trips outside the usual area of ​​residence for less than a year, regardless of the purpose of the visit,
• Visitor (visitor, tourist) as someone who takes part in tourism, either as a tourist (overnight tourist ) or as a same-day visitor ( day visitor ),
• Trip (journey from departure to return to the usual place of residence) and visit (visit to a place during a trip),
• Three main forms of tourism: domestic tourism ( domestic travel), inbound tourism (domestic travel) and outbound tourism (foreign travel). These three forms can be combined into three groups: internal tourism (domestic tourism, includes domestic and inbound tourism ), national tourism (domestic tourism , includes domestic and outbound tourism ), international tourism (international tourism, includes inbound and outbound tourism ).

Individual data

A comparison of the different sources is made difficult by the variety of possible measurands and their often divergent definitions.

Numbers are charged for

• Overnight stays (overnight stay)
• Accommodation establishments: this includes hotels, motels and mostly also guest houses, guest houses, campsites, youth hostels
• private providers, "farm holidays"
• room
• beds
• to travel
• Length of stay
• Arrivals (at airports)

Further parameters are derived from the numbers collected:

• Occupancy rate of the establishments
• Bed density of a region or city

There are also different types of tourism:

• The reason for travel can be of a private nature (vacation, visiting friends and relatives) or of a professional nature (official or business trip, trade fair, conference, business contacts). Medical events ( cure , rehabilitation ) overlap with the health system .

• A distinction is often made between the duration of the trip (short trips) and the distance covered (near tourism, long-distance trips).

• In relation to the area under consideration, locals and non-residents are differentiated.

"In 2007 there were 31.1 million guests and 121.4 million overnight stays in Austria (compared to 2006: [...] foreigners +1.3%, domestic residents +2.7%)"

- Tourism in Austria # Economic importance

• A distinction is made between the trips of residents to other countries ( outgoing ) and the trips of visitors from other countries ( incoming ), primarily on the level of consideration of countries .

Surveys and results

The statistics are compiled according to the regulations or customs of the respective state and can therefore be of very different quality.

For example, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, due to legal or regulatory obligations, the accommodation providers report the sums of the arrivals and overnight stays of guests, broken down according to the guests' countries of origin, to the local communities. These in turn have to deliver community reports to the state and / or federal statistical office, which compiles the overall results. In addition, the number of accommodation establishments and their number of rooms and beds are officially recorded on a regular basis.

In Great Britain and Ireland, where there is no obligation (including for locals) to report their place of residence or temporary stay in accordance with the Central European legal situation, the tourism results are derived from counts of arriving guests at airports or in ports and from sample surveys in the hotel industry. The figures can therefore also include visits to friends and relatives ( VFRs - Visits of Friends and Relatives ), which are not recorded in Germany.

When making international comparisons for regions and cities, the area for which the figures are published must also be taken into account. When making international comparisons of the accommodation capacity, it is important to consider what is meant by an accommodation establishment or commercial accommodation (in contrast to private rooms) in the respective country.

Two central statistics are compiled in Germany (see Tourism in Germany # Tourism Statistics ):

• The monthly tourism survey reports on the accommodation industry in Germany, i.e. on the provider side. The accommodation providers provide information on the number of arrivals and overnight stays by guests, although a distinction is still made between the countries of origin for guests who are permanently resident abroad.

• The statistics on tourism demand evaluate surveys of Germans about their travel behavior: including travel destination, number of overnight stays and travel expenses.

In addition, the Foundation for Future Issues - an initiative of British American Tobacco since 1984 has published the German Tourism Analysis. The annual study on the travel behavior of Germans is based on personal representative surveys and contains statistics, data, analyzes and forecasts, etc. a. on travel destinations, travel duration and travel costs.

Web links

• Eurostat, tourism portal
• German Federal Statistical Office, topic page "Tourism"
• German Federal Statistical Office, publications on the subject of "Tourism"
• Statistics Switzerland, topic page "Tourism"
• Statistics Austria, topic page "Tourism"
• UNWTO, topic page "Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account" (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.statistik.at/web_de/statistiken/tourismus/tourismus-satellitenkonto/index.html
2. ↑ See the explanation in "The economic importance of tourism: Satellite account tourism in Switzerland 2001 and 2005"  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 242 kB)  
3. ↑ UNWTO: International Recommendation for Tourism Statistics, IRTS 2008, ST / ESA / STAT / SER.M / 83 / Rev.1 ,, available as a PDF document
4. ↑ Eurostat: Methodological Manual for tourism statistics. Version 2.1, 2013, available as PDF document  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ http://www.tourmis.info
6. ^ Results of the monthly survey in tourism in the statistical library of the Federal Statistical Office.
7. ^ Statistics on tourist demand - travel behavior of the Federal Statistical Office. The methodology of this statistical survey is described in the associated quality report.
8. ↑ Foundation for Future Issues - an initiative of British American Tobacco : 31st German Tourism Analysis ( Memento of the original from March 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Forschungs aktuell, 260, 36th year, February 4, 2015.