Regional tourism satellite accounts: the economic importance of the tourism industry in Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg, Hamburg and Saxony-Anhalt

Project description

The tourism industry, on the other hand, does not produce “tourism”. Rather, tourism is determined by the demand from tourists, which can be effective in various sectors of the economy. There is demand for products from tourism-related sectors such as the hospitality industry or the culture and leisure industry, as well as products that may initially seem less relevant to tourism (e.g. food). The general classification of economic statistics therefore needs to be expanded in order to capture the tourism industry as a whole. One such extension is the tourism satellite account (TSA).

The Tourism Satellite Account is an internationally established reporting system for the comprehensive determination of the economic importance of tourism. It is based on the definitions of UN Tourism of the United Nations (UNWTO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat). At the same time, it is consistent with official economic statistics and, in particular, with the results of the national accounts. This ensures that the value added and employment effects of tourism can be compared with other economic sectors and placed in a macroeconomic context.

Further information on the methodology of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) can be found in this information on approaches to measuring tourism economic performance.

Project processing

As part of various research projects, the application of this internationally recognized method for calculating the economic factor of tourism was tested for selected federal states. The projects were implemented in cooperation with DIW Econ GmbH, dwif-Consulting GmbH and dwif e.V.

Brochure with TSA results comparison for selected federal states
TSA results from other projects are also available for the federal states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. In cooperation with its partners – DIW Econ and dwif – the German Institute for Tourism Research has compiled the key findings from the individual studies of the federal states in a brochure and compared them. The comparison is intended to help those responsible in the federal states concerned to better classify and evaluate their own results. All other stakeholders in destination management can use the brochure for general information on the TSA system and its approach to determining tourism-induced economic impacts and the relevant performance indicators.
The brochure “Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) to determine the economic importance of tourism – comparison of results for selected federal states” is available to all interested parties as a free download.