TOURISM STATISTICS
OBJECTIVES
The Tourism Statistics program is responsible for producing regular and coherent data on tourism activities. It is also actively involved in user consultation with government and industry bodies on tourism policy priorities to assist in identifying data needs and alternative methods of collecting data.
The program conducts the Survey of Tourist Accommodation (STA) and compiles the Australian Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). Both the current STA and the TSA are funded by the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). The Tourism Statistics program is also responsible for the development and maintenance of tourism frameworks, standards and concepts.
Tourism related data produced by other areas of the ABS includes Overseas Arrivals and Departures data, tourism related exports and imports indicators, and data collected under the Industry Statistics program.
The main clients of the program are: Austrade; state and territory tourism departments; tourism industry associations; academic and research groups; and marketing and consultancy bodies.
Tourism statistics are used to assist in economic analysis and policy formation relating to tourism, to measure the size and structure of the tourism industry and related industries, to allocate state and territory government funding to regional areas, and for local government planning and investment. The STA data are an input to the policy and planning activities of government and industry, particularly in relation to tourism activity in regional areas. The TSA shows the contribution of tourism to major economic aggregates such as gross domestic product. This data supports policy development related to the Tourism 2020 goals.
OUTPUTS
The key outputs of the program are:
The program has actively worked with Austrade to increase outputs
relating to
Australian National Accounts: Tourism Satellite Account (cat. no. 5249.0)
to enable better measurement of tourism industry productivity, employment, growth in real terms and prices. The program also provides assistance in user education relating to
Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia (cat. no. 3401.0), tourism related services exports and imports indicators in
International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0),
Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0), and the tourism related outputs issued by the Industry Statistics program.
DEVELOPMENTS
The main medium-term developments in the program are to:
- deliver an updated annual STA for 2015-16 - due December 2015
- research any structural changes to the tourism industry in recent years as part of the benchmark improvement process for the TSA estimates - due April 2016
- work with Austrade on identifying alternative administrative sources of data collection for tourism accommodation statistics - due June 2016
- contribute to the work of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation and other international bodies in reviewing statistical standards and classifications - ongoing.
PROGRAM MANAGER
Tom Joseph
Industry & Labour Demand Branch
RESOURCES
| Program costs | $m |
| 2015-16 | 0.8 |
| 2016-17 | 0.4 |
| 2017-18 | 0.0 |
The level of funding for this program in the out-years has not yet been agreed.
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