A Tourism Satellite Account for Austria. Methodology, Results and Forecast for the Years 2000 to 2010

Tourism satellite accounts (TSAs) are designed to measure tourism as an economic phenomenon and to allow its analysis and an interface with the national accounts and other economic statistics. To this end, the national accounts provide the framework and integration grid. Nevertheless, the TSA is more than just a subsystem of the national accounts, especially because it can be extended to consider, whenever necessary, additional important data such as employment and investment. The TSA concept provides for a basic breakdown in "tourism-specific", "tourism-related" and "non-tourism-specific" production. The tourism industry as a whole contributed (as direct and indirect value added) 7.7 percent of the GDP in 2008 (on the basis of the value added multipliers according to the input-output table 2005). In 2009 the amount remained unchanged and should reach 7.5 percent in 2010. The direct and indirect effect of tourism on employment was 9.9 percent of the overall employment rate in 2008 (gainfully employed based on full-time equivalents).