Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
undertaking large-scale surveys of tourist activities. The immediate problem facing the
user of such material is the type of errors and degree of accuracy which can be attached
to such data. For example, Latham (1989) identifies the following sample surveys which
are now used to supplement data derived from hotel records:
•
Household surveys,
where the residents of a country are interviewed in their own home
to ascertain information of tourist trips for the purpose of pleasure. A useful example
of a panEuropean study is the EC Omnibus study. Even so, little progress has been
made internationally to collate common data on household surveys since the attempt
by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1967 to
outline the types of data which national travel surveys should collect. In Canada,
Statistics Canada runs a monthly household survey which has carried questions on
tourism for the Canadian Travel Survey (see http://www.statcan.ca/). In the USA, the
National Travel Survey is one additional example of a household-based survey.
•
Destination surveys,
where high levels of tourist activity occur in a region or resort.
Such studies frequently compile statistics on accommodation usage, sample surveys of
visitors and may be linked to existing knowledge derived from household surveys.
•
En route surveys,
where tourists are surveyed en route to examine the characteristics
and features of tourists. Although it is a convenient way to interview a captive
audience depending upon the mode of transport used (see Page 1994a, 1994b), the
results may not necessarily be as representative without a complete knowledge of the
transport flows for the mode of tourist transport being surveyed.
The problem of incomplete questionnaires or non-response may occur where such
surveys require a respondent to post the form back to the surveyor (see Hurst 1987 for a
review on the use of this survey type).
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM STATISTICS
The two principal organisations which collate data on international tourism are the World
Tourism Organisation and the OECD. In addition, international regional tourism
organisations such as the Pacific Asia Travel Association and the ASEAN Tourism
Working Group also collect international tourism statistics (Hall 1997a). Page (1994B)
reviews the major publications of the first two organisations in relation to international
tourism, noting the detailed contents of each. In the case of the WTO, the main source is
the
Yearbook of Tourism Statistics,
which contains a summary of the most salient tourism
statistics for almost 150 countries and territories. In the case of the OECD, its
Tourism
Policy and International Tourism
(referred to as the 'Blue Book') is less comprehensive,
covering only 25 countries, but it does contain most of the main generating and receiving
areas. While the main thrust of the publication is government policy and the obstacles to
international tourism, it does expand on certain areas not covered in the WTO publication
(for a more detailed discussion of data sources, see Withyman 1985).
In contrast to domestic tourism, statistics on international tourism are normally
collected to assess the impact of tourism on a country's balance of payments, though as
Withyman (1985) argued:
