Tourism's Economic Impact - Tourism: Principles, Practices, Philosophies - page 319

met with complaints such as, '' All the hype about tourism ' s contribution to economic growth and job
creation is a gross exaggeration. '' Also, members of the industry itself want to be sure that the
economic impact figures are indeed accurate so that they can better plan their investments and
improve their productivity and performance.
In an attempt to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the measures of tourism ' s economic impact,
the United Nations World Tourism Organization in collaboration with the World Travel and Tourism
Council (WTTC) and with the support of the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), have undertaken to
develop a tourism accounting system that is not only rigorous but also consistent with the national
accounts of every country. This system has been named tourism satellite account.

What Is a Tourism Satellite Account?

A (TSA) is a system developed by the United Nations to measure the size of

economic sectors that are not de ned as industries in national accounts. Tourism, for example, is an
amalgam of industries such as transportation, accommodation, food and beverage services, recreation,
and entertainment and travel agencies.
Tourism is a unique phenomenon, as it is de ned by the consumption of the visitor. Visitors buy goods
and services associated with both tourism and nontourism alike. The key from a measurement standpoint is
to associate their purchases to the total supply of these goods and services within a country.
The TSA is a new statistical instrument designed to measure these goods and services according to
international standards of concepts, classi cations, and de nitions that will allow for valid compari-
sons with other industries and eventually from country to country and between groups of countries.
Such measures will also be comparable with other internationally recognized economic statistics.
In addition, a TSA possesses the following characteristics:

tourism satellite account

Provides credible data on the impact of tourism and the associated employment

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Is a standard framework for organizing statistical data on tourism

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Is a new international standard endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission

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Is a powerful instrument for designing economic policies related to tourism development

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Provides data on tourism ' s impact on a nation ' s balance of payments

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Provides information on tourism human resource characteristics

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Although it may be obvious, it is useful to stress why a TSA is needed. In brief, there is an acute
shortage of information on the increasing role of tourism in national economies worldwide hence,

the need for reliable data relative to the importance and magnitude of tourism, using the same
concepts, de nitions, and measurement approaches as other industries. With the TSA, governments,
entrepreneurs, and citizens will be better equipped for designing public policies and business strategies
for tourism and for evaluating their effectiveness and ef ciency.
Development of a TSA framework has been fueled by the recognition that its implementation will
serve to increase and improve knowledge of tourism ' s importance relative to overall economic activity
in a given country. It will also provide an instrument for designing more ef cient policies relating to
tourism and its employment aspects, and it will create awareness among the various players directly
and indirectly involved with tourism of the economic importance of this activity, and by extension its
role in all the industries involved in the production of goods and services demanded by visitors.

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The Nature of a TSA

A TSA is characterized by the manner in which it seeks to balance measures of tourism demand against
supply. Tourism measurements, in order to be credible and comparable with other industries in a