Regional tourism satellite accounts: towards international comparability

Purpose - Despite its popularity as the only method for measuring the national economic contribution of tourism accredited by the United Nations and other multilateral economic institutions, Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) is rarely applied to subnational regions. The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent the compliance with some general principles that any regional TSA should follow contributes to better international comparability of tourism statistics, one of the main goals of the TSA. Design/methodology/approach - Through secondary research, 14 countries have been identified making regional TSA applications by complying most likely with these principles. In this regard, some methodological issues andmain results obtained by these countries are investigated. Findings - This study concludes that international comparability of TSA compilation data at regional levels should be a long-term goal once congruence is achieved between national and regional TSAs. Research limitations/implications - The paper is not based on a primary data collection of TSA data. Practical implications - The paper shows that regional TSAs might also be envisaged in the international comparability process of the national TSA data. It provides suggestions for how to use data to improve measurement of the economic contribution of tourism to regions. Originality/value - It is the first paper addressing the international comparability of a sizable number of regional TSAs from 14 countries.