1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2007  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2007   
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Contents >> Tourism >> Tourism industry

TOURISM INDUSTRY

Tourism is not an industry in the conventional sense. In the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC), 1993 Edition (1292.0), industries are defined on the basis of the primary goods and services which they produce. Tourism, however, is defined according to the status of the consumer. That is, it is the characteristics of the consumer that determine whether the production is included within the scope of tourism. For example, expenditure on a restaurant meal by a visitor contributes to tourism's share of the economy, whereas expenditure by a local resident does not.

Visitors, in purchasing products outside of their usual environment, have a positive economic impact on their destination by generating additional consumption at the destination over and above that generated by the resident consumers. This additional consumption provides the basis for the economic activity generated by tourism.

Visitors can be classified into national (domestic) and international visitors. National visitors consist of Australian residents who travel outside their usual environment within Australia. They include both overnight visitors (staying one or more nights at a location) and same day visitors. International visitors are those persons who travel to a country other than that in which they have their usual residence.

The contribution of an industry to the overall production of goods and services in an economy is measured by gross value added (GVA) and gross domestic product (GDP). Information on the relationship between industry GVA and GDP is provided in the Industry structure and performance chapter.
A Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) is recognised internationally as the best method for measuring the economic contribution of tourism. Tourism GVA and GDP are the major economic aggregates derived in the TSA.

The tourism industry share of total GVA in 2004-05 was 3.2% (table 21.1). This represents the lowest share since 1997-98 having declined from its peak of 4.1% in 1997-98 and 1998-99. The tourism industry share for 2004-05 has declined as a result of tourism GVA growing slower (1.8%) than GVA for the whole economy (6.8%).

The high tourism share of GDP in 2000-01 was largely due to price increases in tourism services resulting from the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the volume impact arising from the 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. During 2001-02 and 2002-03 external events such as terrorism and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare caused a decline in both international visitors to Australia and the willingness of Australians to travel overseas. The key factors behind the fall in the tourism share of GDP in 2003-04 and 2004-05 were that Australians travelled less in Australia and more overseas, and that non-tourism related industries grew faster than tourism related industries.


21.1 TOURISM SHARE OF GROSS VALUE ADDED AND GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT
Units
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
Tourism characteristic industries GVA(a)
Travel agency and tour operator services$m
992
966
975
962
961
Taxi transport$m
218
207
210
214
210
Air and water transport$m
3,727
3,592
3,557
3,521
3,617
Motor vehicle hiring$m
284
287
298
293
325
Accommodation$m
2,775
2,855
2,917
2,941
3,115
Cafes, restaurants and food outlets$m
2,501
2,601
2,689
2,599
2,644
Total(a)$m
10,498
10,509
10,646
10,531
10,872
GVA of tourism connected industries(b)$m
11,572
11,769
12,152
12,360
12,574
GVA of all other industries(c)$m
2,974
2,973
3,140
3,125
3,032
Tourism GVA$m
25,044
25,250
25,939
26,016
26,479
Tourism share of GVA%
4.0
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
Net taxes on tourism products$m
5,817
5,637
6,041
5,935
6,083
Tourism GDP$m
30,861
30,887
31,980
31,952
32,562
Tourism share of GDP%
4.5
4.2
4.1
3.8
3.7
(a) Tourism characteristic industries have at least 25% of their output consumed by visitors.
(b) Tourism connected industries are those industries not classified as characteristic that have products which are consumed by visitors in volumes which are significant.
(c) The share of GVA of all industries that provide outputs to visitors not included in characteristic or connected industries.
Source: Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (5249.0).


The tourism industry employed 550,100 people in 2004-05 (table 21.2). The number of tourism employed persons grew 2.3% between 2000-01 and 2004-05, slower than the growth in total employed persons (7.4%) over that period. Consequently, the tourism share of total employed persons has fallen from 5.9% in 2000-01 to 5.6% in 2004-05.


21.2 TOURISM INDUSTRY EMPLOYMENT
Units
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
Tourism characteristic and connected industries(a)'000
497.8
493.3
499.3
494.2
506.4
All other industries(b)'000
39.9
40.5
41.5
42.4
43.7
Total tourism industry'000
537.7
533.7
540.7
536.6
550.1
Total employed persons'000
9,074.3
9,207.4
9,441.4
9,528.0
9,743.6
Tourism share of total employment%
5.9
5.8
5.7
5.6
5.6
(a) Tourism characteristic and connected industries are those industries that have products which are consumed by visitors in volumes which are significant.
(b) The share of GVA of all industries that provide outputs to visitors not included in characteristic or connected industries.
Source: Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (5249.0).


Tourism consumption is defined as:

In 2004-05 tourism consumption was largest for long distance passenger transportation (16.5%), followed by shopping (including gifts and souvenirs) (15.7%), take away and restaurant meals (14.7%) and accommodation services (10.3%) (table 21.3).

However, there are some marked differences in consumption patterns by type of visitor. Long distance passenger transportation is the dominant tourism product consumed by domestic business / government (39.5%) and international visitors (26.3%). In contrast, domestic household visitor consumption is dominated by expenditure on shopping (including gifts and souvenirs) (19.9%), and takeaway and restaurant meals (19.1%).


21.3 SHARE OF TOURISM CONSUMPTION ON SELECTED TOURISM PRODUCTS, By type of visitor - 2004-05
Households
Business/
government
International
All visitors
%
%
%
%
Long-distance passenger transportation
8.6
39.5
26.3
16.5
Shopping (including gifts and souvenirs)
19.9
0.3
12.3
15.7
Take away and restaurant meals
19.1
6.2
7.3
14.7
Accommodation services
6.8
23.2
13.3
10.3
Food products
9.5
0.6
7.4
7.9
Fuel (petrol, diesel)
7.0
15.0
1.3
6.5
Taxi products
0.4
2.9
0.7
0.7
All other tourism products
28.7
12.4
31.5
27.5
Source: Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (5249.0).


Total tourism consumption during 2004-05 increased by 2.3%. This was driven by a 5.4% increase in international visitor consumption and a 4.7% increase in business/government consumption over this period. Tourism consumption recorded its strongest growth during 2000-01 of 10.7%, which reflected the impact of the GST on the price of services and expenditure on tickets for the 2000 Olympics.

Tourism makes an important contribution to Australia's export earnings. In 2004-05, international visitors consumed $18.3 billion worth of goods and services produced by the Australian economy (table 21.4). This represented 11.1% of the total exports of goods and services. This figure is consistent with the growth in export of goods and services for the whole economy in 2004-05 of 13.2%.


21.4 EXPORTS OF TOURISM GOODS AND SERVICES
Units
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-2005
International visitor consumption$m
17,140
17,107
16,656
17,317
18,257
Total exports$m
154,669
154,778
149,691
144,676
163,845
Tourism share of exports%
11.1
11.1
11.1
12.0
11.1
Growth in international visitor consumption%
17.3
-0.2
-2.6
4.0
5.4
Growth in total exports%
21.9
0.1
-3.3
-3.4
13.2
Source: Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (5249.0).



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