Tourism statistics

KEY POINTS

EU countries are required to collect, draw up, process and transmit harmonised statistics on supply and demand in tourism.

Data to be collected

• EU countries have to collect data on internal (i.e. domestic and inbound) tourism in terms of the capacity of tourist accommodation establishments (i.e. providing short-stay accommodation services as a paid service). Information collected includes numbers of:
  • establishments;
  • beds;
  • rooms.
• Some of these variables are collected both at national level and at sub-national or regional level (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) level 2) and apply to:
  • the type of accommodation (hotels, tourist accommodation and campsites);
  • the type of locality (densely populated, intermediate or thinly populated areas and coastal or non-coastal areas);
  • size (small, medium-sized or large establishments).
• EU countries also have to collect data on establishments having bedrooms accessible for persons with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users.
• Information on occupancy of establishments such as the number of overnight stays and arrivals of residents and non-residents, as well as the occupancy rates of bedrooms and bed places is also collected. As in the case of capacity statistics, some of these variables are also collected at regional NUTS level 2.
• EU countries collect data concerning national tourism (domestic and outbound tourism). These concern demand for participation in tourism and the characteristics of trips. These data are based on variables including the length and destination of trips for personal purposes and socio-demographic variables such as age group, education level (optional), employment situation (optional), etc.
• Every 3 years, EU countries also compile data presenting the main reasons for non-participation in tourism for personal purposes (financial reasons, lack of time, health reasons, etc.).
• Lastly, EU countries collect data on tourism demand for same-day visits within the country itself or abroad. These data are based on variables relating to:
  • the number of same-day visits (for personal or professional reasons);
  • expenditure;
  • the destination country (for visits abroad);
  • socio-demographic variables.
• Once a year, EU countries send Eurostat a report on the quality of data collected. Eurostat then creates and updates its methodological manual containing guidelines on the statistics produced.

Data sources

EU countries may produce the necessary statistical data by using a combination of the following different sources: surveys, other appropriate sources (including administrative data) and appropriate statistical estimation procedures.