Methodology

The goal of the PTTSA is to measure the economic activity of tourism, including tourism GDP, employment, demand and supply. To do this, the PTTSA takes demand data from the travel surveys (i.e., the TSRC and the ITS) and calculates its contribution to GDP and employment. However, the source data for tourism are dissimilar in that some are based on product detail while others are based on industry detail. That is, demand data from the TSRC and ITS are built up using product details while GDP and employment data use industry breakdowns. Thus, a link needs to be made between products and industries. Supply, which can be calculated using either product or industry detail, is the linking factor between these variables. A demand/supply ratio, as discussed below, can be calculated for each product. This ratio is then moved into the industry framework so that tourism GDP and employment can be estimated using the information provided by the demand surveys.