New Zealand tourism satellite account (TSA) has been developed and published by Stats NZ. It complies with international standards and guidelines set out by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The satellite account was funded by the Ministry of Tourism (prior to 2011), then the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and now the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE). It is one component of a ‘core set’ of tourism data.

Tourism satellite account provides a picture of the role tourism plays in New Zealand, with information on the changing levels and impact of tourism activity. It presents information on tourism's contribution to the New Zealand economy in terms of expenditure and employment.

Tourism satellite account is part of a core set of tourism data that provides base information for understanding and monitoring tourism activity in New Zealand. Other elements of the core dataset include surveys of spending by international and domestic visitors, visitor arrival and accommodation statistics, and forecasts of tourist numbers and expenditure.

About the tourism satellite account

We develop and publish the tourism satellite account, using a UNWTO framework, with funding from MBIE. The tourism satellite account is part of a core set of tourism data that provides base information for understanding and monitoring tourism activity in New Zealand. Other elements of the core dataset include a survey of spending by international visitors, regional tourism expenditure estimates, visitor arrival and accommodation statistics, and forecasts of international tourist numbers and expenditure.

A tourism satellite account integrates data about the supply and use of tourism-related goods and services into a single format. It summarises the contribution tourism makes to production and employment, and is consistent and integrated with New Zealand’s official national accounts. This ensures that the importance of the tourism sector is measured and understood in the context of the New Zealand economy as a whole. New Zealand’s tourism satellite account (TSA) measures expenditure in New Zealand by both resident and non-resident tourists, and thus gives a picture of the overall size of the tourism industry, including its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and employment.

Tourism, unlike ‘conventional’ industries such as agriculture or manufacturing that are classified according to the goods and services they produce, is defined by the characteristics of the customer demanding tourism products. Tourism products can cut across standard industry definitions, and therefore require a different approach.

Satellite accounts are an extension of the core national accounts, and involve rearranging existing information in the national accounts so that an area of particular economic or social importance can be analysed more closely. As extensions of the core system of national accounts, satellite accounts are an important recommendation of the international standard, the System of National Accounts 2008 (Inter-Secretariat Working Group on National Accounts, 2008).

We present both final and provisional estimates in tourism satellite account. The supply and use framework provides a detailed picture of the economy broken down by industry, product, primary input, and final demand categories. It is the starting point for deriving final accounts. To give a more timely picture of the impact of tourism, we prepare provisional TSAs, using fewer data sources than final year estimates. The provisional estimates are presented in a less detailed format, and are updated as relevant data sources become available. As balanced supply and use tables are completed for the relevant years (as part of the ongoing production of the New Zealand System of National Accounts), we replace provisional results with final year estimates.

Value added

Value added is the ‘value’ businesses add to the goods and services they purchase (intermediate inputs) and use in producing their own outputs. The measurement of tourism’s direct value added, also known as tourism’s direct contribution to GDP, is the major focus of the TSA. As direct value added for tourism is measured on the same basis as that used for industries in the national accounts, it enables a consistent comparison between the tourism industry’s contribution to GDP and that of more traditional industries such as agriculture and construction.

Direct value added does not measure the full impact of tourism on the New Zealand economy because it is limited to businesses that have a direct relationship with tourists. Additional value added comes from tourism through producing the intermediate inputs used in producing goods and services sold to tourists, although there is no direct relationship between the producer of the intermediate inputs and the tourist. This additional value added is known as indirect value added.

Results

Tourism plays a prominent role in the New Zealand economy in terms of producing goods and services and creating employment opportunities. Tourism expenditure includes spending by all travellers, whether they are international, resident householders, or business and government travellers. International tourism expenditure includes spending by foreign students studying in New Zealand for less than 12 months.