Common TSA

Copy of the common WTO/OMT-OECD-Eurostat Press Release issued on 8 March 2000 to announce the joint release and approval of the common conceptual framework for a Tourism Satellite Account.
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United Nations Approves Satellite Account for Tourism

Madrid, 8 March, 2000 - Tourism has become the world's first industry to have UN-endorsed international standards for measuring its true economic impact'an achievement expected to significantly boost the sector's influence with governments and international development agencies.

Four intergovernmental organizations developed the standards contained in the Tourism Satellite Account or TSA: the United Nations; the World Tourism Organization; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Commission.

"UN approval is a triumph for the entire tourism sector. It means that we will be able to work with solid economic figures that are internationally comparable and can stand up to the closest scrutiny," WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli said at a news conference held in Madrid on Wednesday.

The Tourism Satellite Account was approved by the 25-member United Nations Statistical Commission on March 1.

"The TSA creates a common language that considerably extends the scope of tourism statistics used for international comparisons to include tourism value added, employment and investment'while being flexible enough to allow adaptations for individual country needs," said Alain Dupeyras, Secretary of the OECD Tourism Committee.

"There is an increasing need by policymakers at the European level to have reliable data on the impact of tourism on the economy and on employment," said Sophia Eriksson, who is responsible for tourism statistics in the statistical office of the European Commission (Eurostat). "Approval of the international standards will allow Eurostat to continue its work with EU Member States to find specific ways of collaborating on implementation of the TSA."

At the United Nations, statistical chiefs representing WTO, OECD and the European Commission expressed satisfaction with their cooperative work on difficult measurement issues and a clear definition of the tourism economy.

"Our presentations highlighted the fact that the three international organizations have been able to reach an agreement on a topic that is highly complex but extremely important to many countries," said WTO Chief of Statistics Antonio Massieu.

The Tourism Satellite Account sets a series of global standards and definitions that measure the industry's contribution to national economies in terms of: percentage of GDP; jobs; capital investment; and the role of tourism in a nation's balance of payments.

In compliance with United Nations recommendations, it runs alongside national accounts and will provide internationally comparable data developed by a country's own statistical institutions that puts tourism for the first time on an equal footing with other, less-diversified economic sectors.

Delegates representing some 100 countries and international organizations attended the commission meeting, held at UN headquarters in New York. The methodological design for the Tourism Satellite Account will now be jointly published by the United Nations, WTO, OECD and Eurostat. All member countries were encouraged to implement the system as rapidly as possible.

"The TSA is a starting point'especially for developed countries. Envisaged extensions already include an employment module to better measure tourism jobs. But it is clear that National Statistical Institutes need greater financial support from governments, especially from National Tourism Administrations, in order to develop the TSA," said Mr. Dupeyras.
Several countries around the world have already successfully carried out a satellite account for tourism: Australia, Canada, Chile, the Dominican Republic, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, and the United States. Other countries, such as Argentina, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and others are beginning to work on implementation.

To assist member countries with this work, WTO is organizing a series of regional implementation seminars. The first is directed towards Latin American countries and will be held in May in Guatemala. Other regional seminars will be held in North Africa and the Middle East later this year.

WTO is also working to develop regional versions of the Tourism Satellite Account and is publishing a series of technical manuals to help national statistical experts collect the necessary data and carry out the TSA. OECD will continue to provide a forum of expertise and discussion for its Member countries, through the Tourism Committee network. Eurostat will reinforce the role of the EU Tourism Statistics Working Group, integrated by statistical and tourism organizations of Member States, with the objective of adapting the approved standards to EU needs and promoting TSA implementation in Europe.

Many other international organizations in the field of tourism contributed years of work to formulating the standards contained in the TSA, among them: the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO); the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA); the International Labour Organization (ILO); the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA); and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

Throughout its development the TSA benefitted greatly from the expertise of Enzo Paci, who served as WTO's chief of statistics until his death in 1998.

Further information can be obtained by contacting the following organisations involved:
World Tourism Organization (WTO)
OECD Tourism Committee
Eurostat.