Geography Reference
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currency exchange. Edwards (1991) suggests that a regular programme of interviews with
departing tourists and returning residents may assist in estimating levels of expenditure.
Despite the apparent problems which may exist with tourism statistics, Edwards
(1991) argues that data on arrivals and nights spent for most destinations outside of
Europe appear reasonably reliable.
Within Europe, data for both inbound and outbound travel are fairly
satisfactory for the UK. Greece, Portugal, Spain and [the former]
Yugoslavia all appear to have usable frontier arrivals data. The most
serious problems are in core continental European countries such as
France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands for which there are no
adequate volumetric measures of travel in either direction.
Accommodation arrivals and nights data are clearly gross
understatements for many European countries …often expenditure and
receipts data appear better indicators. Outside Europe, the major problems
are also in relation to high volume land flows, as between Canada and the
USA (in both directions), from the USA to Mexico and from Hong Kong
to China.
(Edwards 1991:72)
Therefore, in view of these potential constraints, Edwards (1991) advocates that
researchers should compile a range of data from different sources which will not only
highlight the deficiencies in various sources, but also extend the existing baseline data.
Although Edwards (1991) provides guidelines for comparative tourism research using a
range of data for different countries (see also Dann 1993 for the limitations of using
different tourism indicators such as nationality), trends in tourism data remain one of the
main requirements for travel industry organisations. Edwards (1991:73) lists some key
issues to consider in examining tourism trends:
• Have arrivals or accommodation data been changed in coverage or definition?
• Have provisional data for earlier years been subsequently revised?
• Has the reliability of the data changed and how are changing tastes in travel products
affecting the statistics?
Even so, the analysis of trends remains the fundamental starting point for most research
studies in tourism. Having considered the issues associated with how tourism statistics
are generated, attention now turns to the ways in which geographers analyse such
statistics, and variations in tourism activity at different scales.
PATTERNS OF TOURISM: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
D.G.Pearce's (1995a) seminal study on the geographer's analysis of tourism patterns
offers an excellent synthesis reflecting his international contribution to the
methodological development of spatial analysis of tourism. By using geographical
methodologies and concepts, Pearce (1995a) uses statistical sources and primary data on
tourist activity patterns to analyse the processes and patterns associated with the
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