Regional Tourism Satellite Accounts: A Useful Policy Tool?

• Published in: Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) Vol. 40; no. 13; pp. 2777 - 2794
• Main Authors: Jones, Calvin, Munday, Max, Roberts, Annette
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England Carfax Publishing, Taylor & Francis Ltd 01-12-2003; SAGE Publications; Longman Group; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Accounting; Bgi / Prodig; Business; Economic development; Economic policy; Economic research; Economic sectors; Employment; Geographic regions; Human geography; Input output; Input output models; Leisure; OECD; Regional economics; Regional policy; Resource management; Sustainable development; Tourism; Tourism. Recreation; Urban studies; United Kingdom; Tourism; Regional development; Economic impact; Input-output model; Tourism policy; Regional accounting
• ISSN: 0042-0980; 1360-063X
• DOI: 10.1080/0042098032000146894

Tourism increasingly features in strategic regional policy documents, being considered important to regional economic prospects. Consequently many regions, notably those less prosperous, have expended significant resources in developing tourism attractions, promoting tourism events and supporting tourism-based operations. In this resource context, the difficulties in assessing the economic contribution of this diverse (and often atomised) set of activities are of concern. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and others have suggested Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSAs) as a suitable method of providing consistent economic evaluation of tourism-based activity. Yet the provision of an accurate and reliable set of accounts, which informs policy decisions and resource directions, is far from easy. This paper examines some of the methodological difficulties in constructing a TSA at the regional level and implications for deriving an effective tourism policy.