3.136.           Since the aim of the present Compilation Guide is to help countries implement IRTS 2008 and develop a national STS, the data to be obtained should be classified with reference to the standard frameworks described in Chapter V of this publication, so as to not only serve national purposes but also ensure international comparability. The data for national purposes will be much more detailed.

3.137.           For the purposes of international comparability, UNWTO annually requests the data set and indicators for domestic tourism from member and non‑member countries, and then disseminates them through the Compendium of Tourism Statistics. 

Table III.3

Example of a table of results for domestic tourism.

Abbreviations:

“000”: thousands

“US$ Mn: millions of United States dollars

3.138.           Because these data are aggregated, it may be difficult to use them for certain national decision‑making purposes. A decrease in total tourism expenditure expressed in United States dollars, for instance, could be attributed to different causes, such as a depreciation of the United States dollar or a change in the composition of visitors. For national policy purposes, detailed data are needed to elucidate such causes, as indicated previously (see para. 3.101). 

3.139.           More detailed classifications (e.g., those covering forms of accommodation of purposes of the visit) may also be useful for national purposes.