Tourist Accommodation (Survey of)

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    NAME OF ORGANISATION
    Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

    OVERVIEW
    The Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) is a quarterly census of accommodation establishments. From March quarter 1998 the survey covers the following types of establishments on an ongoing basis:

    • Hotels and resorts with 15 or more rooms/units
    • Motels, private hotels and guest houses with 15 or more rooms/units
    • Serviced apartments with 15 or more units.

    In addition, every third year beginning with 2000, the survey is expanded, for the four quarters, to include:
    • Holiday flats and units of letting entities with 15 or more rooms or units
    • Caravan parks with 40 or more powered sites
    • Visitor hostels with 25 or more bed spaces.

    Statistics on the supply and demand for accommodation, employment and takings are available from the survey. The data are published at the national, State and Territory, Tourism Region and Statistical Local Area (SLA) level.

    The statistics are used extensively by governments and businesses for policy and planning purposes.

    PURPOSE
    The purpose of the STA is to measure activity in short-term commercial accommodation in Australia. It provides timely and reliable quarterly data for all stakeholders in the Australian tourism industry.

    The STA is a quarterly census of in-scope establishments which is based upon established procedures and a sound methodology. Respondent familiarity and response rates in excess of 90% also contribute to the production of high quality small area statistics. Users place a high level of reliance on small area data.

    The data are used by government for economic analysis of, and policy formulation for, the tourism industry. A large number of consultants, developers and tourism related businesses use small area data derived from the collection for investment decision making. The data are also important as a means of monitoring profitability and general trends in the industry. Tourist accommodation data are re-published in bulletins released by the Bureau of Tourism Research (BTR) and by a variety of government and semi-government agencies.

    Output from the STA includes:
    • quarterly statistics on the supply of and demand for tourist accommodation;
    • seasonally adjusted, trend, current and constant price statistics; and
    • national, State, Territory and small area data.

    SCOPE
    Major changes to the Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) were introduced in 1997 in response to federal government initiatives to reduce burden on small businesses and improve overall efficiency of government operations. The survey is currently a census of around 4,000 commercial short-term accommodation establishments. The survey strategy comprises three elements:
    1. An on-going quarterly collection covering hotels, motels and guest houses (with toilet/washing facilities in most rooms) and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms/units. Serviced apartments were previously included under other classifications, but have been separately identified since March quarter 1998.
    2. A triennial expansion of the on-going quarterly survey beginning with calendar year 2000 to include caravan parks (with 40 or more powered sites and/or cabins), visitor hostels (with 25 or more beds) and holiday flats and units (with 15 or more units).
    3. Compilation of annual accommodation establishment and capacity counts covering the following accommodation:
      • hotels, motel, guest houses and serviced apartments with five or more rooms/units;
      • caravan parks;
      • visitor hostels; and
      • holiday flats and units establishments with five or more units.

    Coverage is comprehensive and from September quarter 1999, coverage is maintained through six-monthly updates of an electronic file supplied by the AAA Tourism. This is supplemented by notification of new tourism developments and their likely opening dates in selected guides, major tourism journals and periodicals and newspapers. Periodic comparison to lists of accommodation establishments provided by the various Tourism Commissions and Industry Associations is also undertaken.

    DATA DETAIL

    Conceptual framework
    The Framework for Australian Tourism Statistics (ABS Cat No. 9502.0.30.001) is included in the Statistical Concepts Reference Library which is available on CD-Rom. It can also be accessed from the tourism theme page on the ABS website www.abs.gov.au

    Main outputs
    The outputs from the quarterly collection of hotels, motels and serviced apartments are listed below. These are available at the national, State/Territory, Tourism Region and, in some cases, Statistical Local Area level.

    • Supply of accommodation using such items as numbers of establishments, number of rooms number of units and number of bed spaces.
    • Demand for accommodation using room, unit and bed spaces occupied (i.e. the total number of nights rooms, units or bed spaces are occupied during the reference period), guest nights (i.e. the total number of nights paying guests stayed during the reference period) and guest arrivals (i.e. the total number of paying guests counted only on the first night they stayed at the accommodation establishment). Monthly data for these items are provided in output.
    • Occupancy rates are derived items which relate supply and demand. Room occupancy rates express room nights occupied as a percentage of room nights available. Monthly data are provided in output.
    • Takings from accommodation exclude takings from meals and drinks, etc. From 1 July 2002 takings from accommodation are on a GST inclusive basis. Monthly data are provided in output.
    • Employment, the number of persons working at each accommodation establishment at the end of the survey period (i.e. at the end of the reference quarter).

    A number of derived items are also produced i.e. statistics which are either ratios or averages of some of these items. For example, the following are published at the national and State/Territory level:
    • Average length of stay;
    • Average nightly rooms occupied per establishment;
    • Average nightly guests per occupied room;
    • Average takings per establishment;
    • Average takings per room night occupied;
    • Average takings per room night available; and
    • Average takings per guest night.

    Also published are the following trend and seasonally adjusted series at the national and State/Territory level:
    • Trend and seasonally adjusted series for room nights occupied;
    • Trend and seasonally adjusted series for takings at current and constant prices; and
    • Trend series for average takings per room night occupied at current and constant prices.

    Classifications
    The following definitions are used to determine the classification of accommodation establishments in the Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA):

    Hotels and resorts with facilities, being establishments licensed to operate a public bar and which provide accommodation on a room/suite basis, with a bath/shower and toilet in most guest rooms, but which do not have full cooking facilities (i.e. hot plates and oven/microwave) in most guest rooms.

    Motels, private hotels and guest houses with facilities, being establishments not licensed to operate a public bar, and which provide accommodation on a room/suite basis, with a bath/shower and toilet in most guest rooms, but which do not have full cooking facilities (i.e. hot plates and oven/microwave) in most guest rooms.

    Serviced apartments, being establishments which provide short-term, non-residential accommodation which mostly comprises self-contained units at the same location, and which are available on a unit/apartment basis to the general public. The units should be available for a minimum of one night, have full cooking facilities (i.e. hot plates and oven/microwave), refrigerator and bath/shower and toilet facilities. All bed linen and towels should be provided. Daily servicing (i.e. cleaning and bed making) must be available through the on-site management, although this service may not necessarily be utilised.

    Holiday flats and units, being self-contained units which are available for short-term non-residential letting to the general public and which are operated by owners, managers or real estate agents who have sole letting rights. These units are self-contained in terms of cooking (i.e. hot plates and oven/microwave) and bath/shower and toilet facilities, but do not satisfy all the criteria required for serviced apartments (i.e. they do not have one or more of the following: a minimum of one night availability, refrigerator, daily servicing available through the on-site management, or they are not at the same location).

    Visitor hostels, which provide short-term non-residential accommodation to the general public on a bed basis (rather than by the room).

    Caravan parks, which provide short-term non-residential accommodation to the general public, with powered sites for caravans and toilet, shower and laundry facilities for guests.

    Australian Standard Geographic Classification (ASGC) is used to disseminate statistics at the below State level.
    In addition, Tourism Regions were introduced into the STA in 1998, in order to:
    • structure small area data along regional boundaries that were consistent with the needs of State Tourism bodies and other users of tourism statistics; and
    • to allow comparisons to be made between results from the STA, the National Visitors Survey and the International Visitors Survey (these surveys are conducted by the Bureau of Tourism Research (BTR).

    The ABS use Tourism Region boundaries in disseminating small area data from the STA in Tourist Accommodation, Australia (ABS Cat No. 8635.0) and in related State products, including Tourist Accommodation, Small area data New South Wales (ABS Cat No. 8635.1.40.001).

    Other concepts (summary)
    The Survey of Tourist Accommodation collects data from the establishment. In this case the establishment represents the accommodation unit.

    GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL
    1. National & State/Territory\1.01 Australia
    1. National & State/Territory\1.02 All States & Territories
    2. Parts of State\2.01 Statistical Division (SD)
    2. Parts of State\2.02 Statistical Subdivision (SSD)
    2. Parts of State\2.03 Statistical Local Area (SLA)
    2. Parts of State\2.12 Other Geographic Areas\2.12.13 Other

    Comments and/or Other Regions
    Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) data are also disseminated at the Tourism Region geographic level.

    Tourism Regions were introduced into the STA in 1998, in order to:

    • structure small area data along regional boundaries that were consistent with the needs of State Tourism bodies and other users of tourism statistics; and
    • to allow comparisons to be made between results from the STA, the National Visitors Survey and the International Visitors Survey (these surveys are conducted by the Bureau of Tourism Research (BTR).

    The ABS use Tourism Region boundaries in disseminating small area data from the STA in Tourist Accommodation, Australia (ABS Cat No. 8635.0) and in related State products, including for example: Tourist Accommodation, Small area data New South Wales (ABS Cat No. 8635.1.40.001).

    COLLECTION FREQUENCY
    Quarterly

    Frequency comments
    The Survey of Tourist Accommodation is a quarterly collection but in the period July to December 1989 (i.e. during the pilots' strike), data was collected each month from the largest establishments.

    COLLECTION HISTORY

    • First quarterly survey in September quarter 1975 covers all accommodation establishments (except caravan parks) in classes 9212 and 9213 of the Australian Standard Industrial Classification which reported in the 1973/74 Census of Tourist Accommodation Establishments or by separate communication that they provided accommodation to short term visitors. The Northern Territory was not enumerated.
    • September quarter 1977 - Northern Territory included for the first time. Short term caravan parks included for the first time (no size cut-off). Hotels, motels and guest houses without facilities excluded (except for Western Australia).
    • September quarter 1986 - Long-term caravan parks added (no size cut-off). Star-grading of hotels, motels and guesthouses added and guest arrivals collected from these establishments for the first time.
    • September quarter 1987 - Letting entities for holiday flats, units and houses added (formal size cut-off of five or more units).
    • September quarter 1991 - Visitor hostels added (no size cut-off).
    • December quarter 1993 - Hotel, motel and guest house establishment with fewer than five rooms were formally excluded from the collection.
    • March quarter 1998 - Collection substantially changed. On a quarterly basis the survey covers hotels, motels and guest houses with 15 or more rooms and serviced apartments with 15 or more units. Some caravan parks, visitor hostels and smaller establishments are also surveyed through the addition of user-funding. Every three calendar years the survey is expanded for all four quarters to include caravan parks (with 40 or more powered sites, cabins etc), holiday flats, units and houses (where the agent or manager has sole letting rights to at least 15 flats/units/houses) or visitor hostels (with 25 or more bed spaces).
    • March quarter 1999 - Data for Tasmania and Northern Territory no longer collected according to the 1997 scope (five or more rooms/units etc). For the Northern Territory the Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) is expanded, through user funding, to include caravan parks with 40 or more powered sites and visitor hostels with 25 or more beds.
    • Calendar year 2000 - first expanded collection. For the four quarters the survey covers:
      • hotels, motels and guest houses and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms or units;
      • caravan parks with 40 or more powered sites;
      • holiday flats and units operated by owners, managers or real estate agents with sole letting rights to 15 or more units; and
      • visitor hostels with 25 or more beds
    • March quarter 2001 - Ongoing survey covers hotels, motels and guest houses and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms or units. Additional user funding in the Northern Territory provides for the collection of STA data from caravan parks with 40 or more powered sites and visitor hostels with 25 or more beds.
    • Calendar year 2003 - second expanded collection. For the four quarters the survey covers:
      • hotels, motels and guest houses and serviced apartments with 15 or more rooms or units;
      • caravan parks with 40 or more powered sites;
      • holiday flats and units operated by owners, managers or real estate agents with sole letting rights to 15 or more units; and
      • visitor hostels with 25 or more beds


    A brief summary 25 Years of the Survey of Tourist Accommodation can be found in the December quarter 2000 issue of Tourism Indicators, Australia (ABS Cat No. 8634.0).

    DATA AVAILABILITY
    Yes

    Data availability comments
    Data is available quarterly in the publication Survey of Tourist Accommodation, Australia (ABS Cat No. 8635.0) and in the Small Area data service reports for each State and the Northern Territory, for example Tourist Accommodation, Small Area Data, New South Wales (ABS Cat No. 8635.1.40.001). The data is published approximately 11 weeks after the end of the reference period.


    DATE OF LAST UPDATE FOR THIS DOCUMENT
    19/03/2003 04:25 PM