5249.0.55.002 - Information Paper: Introduction of revised international statistical standards in the Australian Tourism Satellite Account, Nov 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 10/11/2009  First Issue
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INTRODUCTION


Revised international standards for tourism statistics have changed the measurement of some of the components of the Australian Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), though there has been no major change to the structure of the accounts. The fundamental change to the Australian TSA will be the treatment of goods purchased by visitors and the resultant impact on the derivation of tourism value added. Other changes in the Australian context include the:

  • revision of characteristic products and industries
  • definition of tourism consumption and its differing scopes
  • possible changes to the layout and presentation of publication tables.

This paper focusses on the key changes to the Australian TSA as a result of implementing the revised international and related standards and outlines:
  • the conceptual basis underlying the main changes that will be implemented in the Australian TSA
  • a description of other changes to macro-economic international standards that will be implemented in the Australian TSA
  • the standards the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will either not comply with, or will not be implementing at this stage.


Background

The ABS presents key results of the Australian TSA which is compiled within a conceptual framework that is consistent with international standards for tourism statistics and economic statistics in general. A number of these international standards relevant to the TSA were updated recently. Changes to relevant statistical standards explained further in this paper are planned to be implemented in the 2008-09 issue of the Australian TSA which is expected to be released in June 2010.

The international standard underpinning the concepts and methods used to date in the compilation of the Australian TSA is the 2000 Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework (TSA:RMF 2000). This international standard is closely aligned with the prevailing international framework for economic statistics which is centred around two key documents, the System of National Accounts, 1993 (SNA93) and the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual (BPM5), both of which were released in 1993.

The international standards for tourism statistics were updated concurrently with the international standards for national and international accounts. The final version of the 2008 Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework (TSA:RMF 2008) and the International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics (IRTS 2008) were respectively noted and approved at the 39th session of the United Nations Statistical Commission in February 2008. The new standards for economic statistics are presented in the System of National Accounts, 2008 (SNA08) and the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual, sixth edition (BPM6).

Other international statistical standards which have been revised that are relevant to tourism statistics include the international product and industry classifications, specifically the Central Product Classification Version 2 (CPC V2.0) and the International Standard Industrial Classification Revision 4 (ISIC Rev. 4). The Australian version of the standard industry classification, the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), has been revised to align more closely with ISIC Rev. 4.