Introduction
102. This topic elaborates on the 'Typical Measures' for the SUPPLIER element of the event and provides definitions and classifications where relevant.
Number of establishments (or enterprises)
103. This is a basic measurement relating to suppliers of goods or services in the destination area.
Value of sales
104. The value of sales provides basic data for assessing the economic effect of tourism on the destination area or to a specific industry sector.
Number of persons employed
105. The number of persons employed provides the basis for an estimate of the employment value of tourism to the destination region. It is recommended that the following ABS definition be used:
EMPLOYED PERSONS: - Persons aged 15 and over who, during the reference week:
- worked for one hour or more for pay, profit, commission or payment in kind,
- worked for one hour or more without pay in a family business (i.e. unpaid family helpers),
- were employees who had a job but were not at work and were: on paid leave; on leave without pay for less than four weeks up to the reference period; stood down without pay because of bad weather or plant breakdown at their place of employment for less than four weeks up to the reference period; on strike or locked out; on workers' compensation and expecting to be returning to their job; or receiving wages or salary while undertaking full-time study; or
- were employers, self-employed persons or unpaid family helpers who had a job, business or farm, but were not at work
Types of persons employed
106. These data provide measurements of the current employment demands of tourism in the destination region, and the basis for planning of future employment and training needs.
(i) FULL-TIME/PART-TIME. Full-time should be defined as working 35 hours or more in the reference week. Otherwise the person should be classed as part-time.
(iii) AGE. Age should be recorded as the number of years reached at the last birthday. It is recommended that the following age groups be used:
Age at last birthday
0 - 14 years
15 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 44 years
45 - 54 years
55 - 59 years
60 - 64 years
65 - years and over
(iv) OCCUPATION. The occupations of employed persons should be classified according to the Australian Standard Classification of Occupations (ASCO) Second Edition. For the classification of persons employed, it is likely that some categories at the more detailed Unit group will be required, rather than just the Major and Sub-major groups of this classification. See the ASCO publication (ABS Cat. no. 1220.0) available on the ABS web site for full details.
(v) TRAINING. Statistics on training are important to assess the current levels of skills required and the future training needs of the industry. A number of useful standard classifications are available for classifying formal training. Formal training is defined as:
"All training activities which have a structured plan and format designed to develop employment related skills and competencies. It consists of periods of instruction, or a combination of instruction and monitored practical work. The instruction can take the form of workshops, lectures, tutorials, training seminars, audio-visual presentations, demonstration sessions or monitored self-paced training packages. It includes structured on-the-job training."
It does not include such informal training as unstructured on-the-job training which involves being shown how to do things as the need arises or learning by doing the job.
Activities, which are formal but where the primary objective is not training, such as certain types of conferences and seminars, should not be treated as training.
Formal training can be divided into the following categories:
- In-house training. "Training which is organised by employers mainly for their own employees, either using the employers' own staff or outside consultants (e.g. a consultant who designs a program specifically for the employer). In-house training can be conducted at an off-site location or on the employers' business premises."
- External training. "Training which is organised and conducted by outside training/educational institutions, agencies or consultants."
The ABS has developed a Classification of Qualifications (Cat. no. 1262.0). This classifies training in two ways, that is: by Level of Attainment and by Field of Study.
The 'Level of Attainment' classification has seven categories:
In conjunction with the 'Level of Attainment' classification, the 'Field of Study' classification provides a systematic classification of subject matters taught in a course of study. The classification has a hierarchic structure, containing three levels, that is: Broad Fields, Narrow Fields and Detailed Fields. The nine Broad Fields are shown below. However, of more practical use for tourism purposes are the 187 Detailed Fields. These are the specific subject matters, such as, for example, '925 Waiting and Bar Service' and '635 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanics'. For the full list of subject matters for training see the ABS Classification of Qualifications.
A feature of the Classification of Qualifications is that the two component classifications can be combined to identify the level at which the subject matter training has been undertaken. This is done by putting the appropriate Level of Attainment code number in front of the code number for the relevant Field of Study. For example, if an employee has undertaken a training course in Tourism Marketing the appropriate Field of Study code is 134. By putting a 5 in front of the code, the combined code 5134, identifies the training as being an Associate Diploma in Tourism Marketing.
(vi) YEARS IN PRESENT OCCUPATION. This can provide a measurement of the degree of experience of employed persons and can be used in conjunction with data on occupation and training. The number of years should include experience in all previous jobs working in a particular occupation, but should not include experience in other occupations.
Location
107. Location of business establishments should be classified according to the system used to categorise destination regions (see Destination in Chapter 3, Topic 'Typical measures for CONSUMERS').
Various economic/accounting indicators
108. Studies which look at various aspects of the economics of tourism will require a variety of economic measures (for example, levels of investment, capital stocks, income and expenditure). For these data items, conventional accounting/economic definitions should be used.