9502.0.55.001 - Framework for Australian Tourism Statistics, 2003

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 29/09/2003

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Contents >> Chapter 3. The Typical Measures >> Typical Measures For Product

139. This section elaborates on the typical measures for the product element of the event and provides definitions and classifications where relevant.

PRODUCT SPECIFIC DATA

140. Most of the measures relating to products will be product specific or possibly location specific, so that standard classifications are not appropriate. Requirements will vary depending on the aim and focus of the study.

141. The measures for product specific data would include the following below.

PRODUCT SPECIFIC DATA MEASURES

Measure	Explanation

Type of products	Description of the goods/services

Quality	Measures of the quality or standard of the goods/services

Price range	Possibly an alternative measurement of quality

Means of distribution	The channels through which the goods/services reach the consumer

Places visited	Specific places of tourist interest in the destination region

Other product specific measures	Example: occupancy rates in accommodation establishments

Supply and occupancy of commercial accommodation

142. As data on the supply and occupancy of commercial accommodation are one of the measures of particular interest, this is dealt with in some detail.

143. Data on the availability of accommodation units (guest rooms, beds, holiday flats, caravan park sites, etc.) should generally comprise only those units which are available to paying guests each night. The data should exclude, for example:

units used by managers

units unavailable for other reasons (e.g. repairs).

144. Data on the occupancy of accommodation units should comprise the number of units which are occupied by paying guests each night.

145. Occupancy rates for a period are calculated by:

summing the number of units occupied each night during the period, then

expressing this as a percentage of the sum of the number of units available each night during the period.

146. The unit of measurement for supply and occupancy varies depending on the type of accommodation involved. For example:

in hotels, motels and similar establishments where the accommodation is sold on a room basis, the appropriate units are rooms and bed spaces (a double bed equals 2 bed spaces)
in establishments such as self-catering or holiday apartments where the accommodation is sold on the basis of the whole apartment, the unit of measurement is apartments
in hostels or other dormitory-style accommodation where accommodation is sold on a bed basis, the measurement unit is bed spaces
in caravan parks and camping grounds the appropriate unit is sites. Sites should be split between powered and unpowered sites, depending on whether the sites have electrical connections or not.

147. For caravan parks, one question is how sites which are permanently reserved but not always occupied should be treated in the statistics. Theoretically, their treatment would differ depending on what the statistics are required to identify. In some cases it would be appropriate to exclude such sites from both supply and occupancy statistics, since once they are reserved they are not publicly available for paying visitors. In this case they would be treated as second homes. This understates the demand for visitor accommodation as the occupiers are usually visitors rather than residents. Alternatively, it may be appropriate to include them in both the supply and occupancy statistics to reflect the fact that they are taken up by paying guests, even if those guests are not physically occupying the site for much of the time.

148. A middle approach would be to include the site in the supply statistics for each night and only include it in the occupancy statistics for those nights when the site is occupied. This gives an accurate picture of the demand for accommodation by visitors. An additional consideration is the practical issue of what data can actually be collected. The experience of the ABS with the Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) is that many caravan park operators do not know when such sites are actually physically occupied. Consequently, in the STA results, such sites are treated as being 100% occupied. While this overstates the number of visitor nights in a destination area, it accurately reflects the extent of visitor accommodation available. (The STA results however, do allow these sites to be excluded from the supply and demand side and hence occupancy rates recalculated accordingly.)

EXPENDITURE

149. Statistics on expenditure by visitors constitute one of the most important and most complex measures of tourism required by researchers and analysts. The uses of these statistics range from assessing the value of tourism expenditure in a particular destination or industry sector to assessing the impact of tourism on the national economy. Different types of expenditures may be included for different purposes. For example, the data needs for the Balance of Payments may be quite different to the data needed to assess an industry sector in a local area.

150. The United Nations/World Tourism Organisation definition of tourism expenditure is closely linked to its definition of tourism consumption. Tourism consumption is defined as 'the value of goods and services used by or for tourism units'. Tourism expenditure hence is defined as 'the total consumption expenditure made by a visitor or on behalf of a visitor, for and during his/her trip and stay at the destination'.

151. The concept of tourism expenditure encompasses a wide variety of items, ranging from the purchase of consumer goods and services inherent in travel and stays to the purchase of small durable goods for personal use, souvenirs and gifts for family/friends.

152. The definition of tourism expenditure allows that:

(a) the consumption of the good/service may not necessarily be by the visitor him/herself. While in most cases the visitor is the consumer, in some cases a friend or relative may be the consumer. An example is a gift or souvenir purchased by the visitor on the trip and given to someone else.

(b) the expenditure may not necessarily be undertaken by the visitor him/herself. In the case of a group, such as a family, expenditure may be undertaken by one person on behalf of another (e.g. a parent on behalf of a dependent child). The person undertaking the expenditure may or may not be accompanying the visitor. An example is a business visitor being funded by an employer.

(c) the expenditure may be incurred before, during or after the trip. Expenditure incurred before or after the trip which relates to commodities received on the trip should be included (e.g. pre or post-trip payment for accommodation). In some cases, commodities directly relating to the trip, but received before or after the trip should also be included (e.g. photographic films or special holiday clothing).

153. It would be helpful to have a set of rules on inclusions/exclusions of the types and categories of expenditure. This is not possible due to the different requirements of tourism expenditure statistics. Guidelines on inclusions/exclusions have been produced by the World Tourism Organisation. These guidelines are shown below.

CATEGORIES TO BE INCLUDED/EXCLUDED IN TOURISM EXPENDITURE STATISTICS

		Domestic tourism	International tourism
1.	Pre-trip expenditure
1.1	Important acquisitions (e.g. cars, caravans, boats, second homes), even though they may be used in the future for tourist travel.	Exclude	Exclude

1.2	Small durable items or consumables which are purchased or hired for this trip, even if mostly used after this trip (e.g. luggage, leisure/recreation goods).	Include	Exclude

1.3	Services which will be used entirely on this trip (e.g. transport, package tours and accommodation travel insurance).	Include	Include(a)

1.4	Services obtained prior to the trip which are directly related to the trip (e.g. motor vehicle servicing and home/pet care).	Include	Exclude

2.	On-trip expenditure
2.1	Purchases for commercial purposes (i.e. for resale, investment or other business use) made by any category of visitor and purchases made on behalf of their employers by visitors on business trips.	Exclude	Exclude

2.2	Cash given to relatives or friends which does not represent payment for tourism goods or services, as well as donations made to institutions.	Exclude	Exclude

2.3	Capital type investments or purchases engaged in by visitors (i.e. land, housing, real estate) and other important acquisitions (i.e. cars, caravans, boats, second homes), even though they may be used in the future for tourist travel.	Exclude	Exclude

2.4	Expenditure on everyday purchases made on a trip outside the usual environment, whose purpose is to take advantage of lower prices, higher quality or wider choice for such goods.	Include	Include

2.5	Other major expenditure items, such as major car repairs.	Include	Include

2.6	Small durable items or consumables, irrespective of whether used on tourist travel or at home.	Include	Include

2.7	Items which are primarily mementoes of the trip (e.g. souvenirs), irrespective of the cost.	Include	Include

2.8	Services acquired on the trip (e.g. transport and accommodation).	Include	Include

2.9	Any other purchases of goods/services obtained at any destination, irrespective of cost.	Include	Include(b)

3.	Post-trip expenditure
3.1	Goods/services obtained after the trip, which are directly related to the trip (e.g. photographic processing, repairs to motor vehicles damaged during the trip), but excluding important acquisitions and capital type investments.	Include	Exclude

(a) For outbound tourism, include only services received outside the reference country and international transportation. For inbound tourism, include only services received inside the reference country and international transportation.
(b) For outbound tourism, include. For inbound tourism, include only purchases in the reference country.

154. While expenditure on important acquisitions and capital type investments (items 1.1 and 2.3 in the table above) should be excluded, there are two related expenditures which should be included:

(a) any associated running or maintenance costs incurred on the trip (e.g. fuel and repairs). Annual charges, such as rates payable on a second (or holiday) house, should be attributed as far as possible to each visit to the holiday house on a pro-rata basis, based on an estimate of the number of days to be spent in the holiday home throughout the year. Only out-of-pocket costs should be included. Other types of costs, such as depreciation, should not be included. If these are required for research or accounting purposes, they should be calculated separately from other sources.

(b) expenditure on a product that is purchased during a trip specifically for use on the trip and is sold during the trip (e.g. a vehicle used for touring at the destination). The net cost should be included (i.e. the purchase cost plus running costs, less the selling price).

155. The issue of whether artworks or jewellery should be treated as capital type investments is a complex matter. The difficulty is defining when a purchase constitutes such an investment. Setting a specific value (e.g. $10,000) above which such a purchase would be considered a capital type investment would be arbitrary. As well as the difficulty of defining such items, complexity surrounds the reason for purchase. Such items may be purchased for personal or investment purposes or for a combination of both. Until further work is done on this issue to provide a satisfactory set of rules on how to statistically treat such purchases, the WTO has developed a 'rule-of-thumb' recommendation. While accepting that precise assessment of the motive for purchase can often be difficult in practice, the following guidelines are recommended:

(a) if the purchase is for or on behalf of a business (either for resale, investment or for decoration), then exclude

(b) if purchased solely or primarily for investment, then exclude

(c) if purchased solely or primarily for personal use (of the visitor or someone else), then include.

156. Expenditure on the purchase of a product should comprise the total cost to the visitor (i.e. it should allow for any tips, agent fees, taxes, discounts or other adjustments to the price).

157. Expenditure undertaken through any mode of payment must be included (e.g. cash, credit/debit cards, travellers' or personal cheques, electronic transfer, direct billing or any other method).

158. The source of the funding of expenditure (i.e. whether the expenditure is funded from within or outside the destination area) may be an important issue for some studies. Depending on the purpose of the collection, either total expenditure or only expenditure sourced from outside the destination area may be required. For example, for an assessment of the value of tourism to a destination area only that expenditure which is sourced from outside the area might be of interest. Measurement of total tourism economic activity might require all expenditure irrespective of source.

159. Expenditure sourced from within the destination area would include, for example:

(a) expenditure incurred by a host as a result of a visit by a friend or relative

(b) expenditure by the visitor sourced from a bank account or other investment in the destination area

(c) expenditure by a business visitor which is funded by a branch of his/her business in the destination area.

160. As the table showing inclusions/exclusions in tourism expenditure statistics indicated, there are different requirements for data on expenditure by domestic and by international visitors. Data on expenditure by domestic and by international visitors are discussed separately below.

Expenditure by domestic visitors

161. Within the context of the definition of tourism expenditure given in the last section, the United Nations/World Tourism Organisation definition of domestic tourism expenditure is 'expenditure incurred as a direct result of resident visitors travelling within their country of residence.'

162. The matrix below summarises the broad categories of domestic tourism expenditure, according to where the expenditure is incurred and to whether the expenditure is funded from outside or inside the destination area.

CATEGORIES OF DOMESTIC TOURISM EXPENDITURE

		EXPENDITURE INCURRED
		Outside destination		At destination	Total
		Products received	Products received
Source of funds		outside destination	at destination
		(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)

Outside destination	(1)	(1.1)	(1.2)	(1.3)	(1.4)

At destination	(2)	(2.1)	(2.2)	(2.3)	(2.4)

Total	(3)	(3.1)	(3.2)	(3.3)	(3.4)

163. Whether the perspective is from the destination area level or the national level will influence what cells should be included in the statistics.

164. The standards adopted by the United Nations/World Tourism Organisation for international comparability of data require that all and only row 1 expenditure cells be included (i.e. all and only expenditure funded from outside the destination area). This approach recognises the difficulty of collecting data on expenditure sourced from funds at destination (row 2), which in practice is usually not included in responses in tourism expenditure surveys.

Expenditure by international visitors

165. International visitor expenditure covers expenditure by both:

(a) inbound visitors to Australia (i.e. international inbound tourism receipts)

(b) residents of Australia travelling abroad (i.e. international outbound tourism expenditure).

International inbound tourism receipts

166. Within the context of the definition of tourism expenditure given earlier, the United Nations/World Tourism Organisation describes international inbound tourism receipts as 'expenditure of international inbound visitors, including their payments to national carriers for international transport. This should also include any other pre-payments made for goods and services received in the destination country.'

167. The matrix below summarises the broad categories of international inbound tourism expenditure, according to where the expenditure is incurred and whether the expenditure is funded from outside or inside the reference destination country.

CATEGORIES OF INTERNATIONAL INBOUND TOURISM EXPENDITURE

	EXPENDITURE INCURRED
		In other countries
		Travel to/from Australia		Other expenditure
		On carriers		Products
		Registered in	On foreign	Obtained in	Obtained in
Source of funds	In Australia	Australia	carriers	Australia	other countries	Total
	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)

Other countries (1)	(1.1)	(1.2)	(1.3)	(1.4)	(1.5)	(1.6)

Australia (2)	(2.1)	(2.2)	(2.3)	(2.4)	(2.5)	(2.6)

Total (3)	(3.1)	(3.2)	(3.3)	(3.4)	(3.5)	(3.6)

168. As in the case of domestic visitor expenditure, the types of expenditure that should be included in international inbound tourism receipts data depend on what the statistics are required for.

169. Expenditure by international inbound visitors represents an increase in demand on the Australian economy that would not have otherwise occurred. To some extent this simplifies the issues involved in deciding what type of expenditure should be included and compared with domestic tourism expenditure. For example, for Australian purposes, it is not likely that any collection will be required to collect expenditure on products obtained in other countries, including on foreign carriers (e.g. clothes purchased in advance to wear on the trip or purchases made in transit to/from Australia). Expenditure in columns 3 and 5 in the above matrix are unlikely to be required.

170. For most purposes, international inbound visitor receipts data should only include payments which are sourced in other countries on products obtained in Australia (i.e. cells 1.1, 1.2 and 1.4). These payments may be made in Australia or in any other country.

171. For some studies payments by or on behalf of the visitor which are sourced in Australia (e.g. from a visitor's bank account in this country or from a host) might be required (i.e. cells 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3). In such cases, these should be collected but identified separately from expenditure sourced in other countries.

172. For purposes of international standardisation and comparability of data, the United Nations/World Tourism Organisation recommendations require that only expenditure which is sourced in another country on products obtained in the reference country should be included (i.e. cells 1.1, 1.2 and 1.4). For other purposes data in other cells may be required.

173. Data on expenditure, particularly pre-trip expenditure, may be collected in the currency of the visitor's country of residence. This should be converted into Australian dollars using the exchange rate in effect at the time of the survey.

International outbound tourism expenditure

174. Within the context of the definition of tourism expenditure given earlier, the United Nations/World Tourism Organisation describes international outbound tourism expenditure as 'expenditure of international outbound visitors to other countries, including their payments to foreign carriers for international transport. This should also include any other prepayments made for goods and services received in any foreign country.'

175. The matrix below summarises the broad categories of international outbound tourism expenditure according to where the expenditure is incurred and funded.

CATEGORIES OF INTERNATIONAL OUTBOUND TOURISM EXPENDITURE

	EXPENDITURE INCURRED
		Travel to/from Australia		Other expenditure		Total
		On carriers		Products
	In other	Registered in	On foreign	Obtained in	Obtained in
	countries	Australia	carriers	Australia	other countries
Source of funds	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)

Australia (1)	(1.1)	(1.2)	(1.3)	(1.4)	(1.5)	(1.6)

Other countries (2)	(2.1)	(2.2)	(2.3)	(2.4)	(2.5)	(2.6)

Total (3)	(3.1)	(3.2)	(3.3)	(3.4)	(3.5)	(3.6)

176. The types of expenditure that should be included in international outbound tourism expenditure data depend on the requirements of a particular study.

177. Expenditure by international outbound visitors on products obtained in another country (i.e. cells 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5) represents a loss to the Australian economy. While this type of expenditure is usually of most interest, for some purposes expenditure by outbound visitors on visit-related products obtained in Australia, before or after the visit (i.e. cells 1.2 and 1.4) may also be of interest. For example, purchases in Australia of holiday clothing prior to taking an overseas trip or payment to Qantas for transportation from and to Australia would be considered to be economic activity resulting from tourism in an assessment of the impact of tourism on the economy.

178. Payments by outbound visitors which are sourced from a destination country (e.g. from a traveller's bank account in that country) are not required for most purposes (i.e. row 2). For studies that do require such data to be collected, the expenditure should be identified separately from expenditure sourced in Australia.

179. For purposes of international standardisation and comparability of data, the United Nations/World Tourism Organisation recommendations require that only expenditure that is sourced in the reference country, on products obtained in other countries should be included (i.e. cells 1.1, 1.3 and 1.5). For other purposes, data in other cells may be required.