METHODOLOGY
UNSD Statistics of International Trade in Services Section is working in close collaboration with UNWTO on developing and maintaining methodological work in the area of tourism statistics and supporting the drafting work of the International Recommendations on Tourism Statistics 2008 (IRTS 2008) and the Tourism Satellite Accounts: Recommended Methodological Framework 2008 (TSA 2008). Both recommendations were adopted by the UN Statistical Commission in 2008.
The Section is also involved in supporting the implementation of the international recommendations and in organizing regional workshops and online courses to support regional capacity development around the world.
Current International Recommendation on Tourism Statistics and related documents:
- Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services 2010 (MSITS 2010)
- International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008 (IRTS 2008)
- Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework 2008
Compliation Guidelines to support the implementation process:
PUBLICATIONS
International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008 (IRTS 2008)
The International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008 provides a comprehensive methodological framework for collection and compilation of tourism statistics in all countries irrespective of the level of development of their statistical systems. Its primary audience is the staff of national statistical offices and national tourism administrations involved in the compilation of tourism statistics.
The recommendations were drafted by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in close cooperation with the United Nations Statistics Division, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and other members of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group on Tourism Statistics. A draft version of the recommendations was reviewed and endorsed by the United Nations Expert Group on Tourism Statistics in June 2007 and was adopted by the Statistical Commission at its thirty-ninth session (E/CN.3/2008/34)
» More information on the UN Expert Group on Tourism Statistics
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The previous version, Recommendations on Tourism Statistics was adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission at its twenty-seventh session, in 1993. At the same session, the Commission also adopted the Standard International Classification of Tourism Activities (SICTA) as a provisional classification for use by countries (E/CN.3/1993/26).
IRTS 2008: Compilation Guide
The International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008 Compilation Guide is a companion document to the International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics (IRTS 2008). The primary purpose of this Compilation Guide is to provide further clarifications and practical guidance for using sources and methods to compile statistics on tourism. It is designed to support the production of a high quality set of basic data and indicators in each country, and to strengthen the international comparability of tourism statistics.
» More on the worldwide consultation and drafting process
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Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework 2008 (TSA: RMF 2008)
The Tourism Satellite Account: Recommended Methodological Framework 2008, provides an updated framework for constructing a Tourism Satellite Account. The purpose of a Tourism Satellite Account is to analyze in detail all the aspects of demand for goods and services associated with the activity of visitors; to observe the operational interface with the supply of such goods and services within the economy; and to describe how this supply interacts with other economic activities. It permits greater internal consistency of tourism statistics with the rest of the statistical system of a country, as well as increased international comparability of these data. The updating process was undertaken by UNWTO under the scrutiny of the Inter-agency Coordination Group on Tourism Statistics.
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The previous recommendations were contained in the manual Tourism satellite accounts and approved by the Statistical Commission at its thirty-first session, in 2000 (E/CN.3/2000/21).