Relevance
The collection consists of
tourism data on domestic and outbound trips only in the frame of the Regulation
(EU) 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning
statistics on tourism demand. Statistics
include data on residents' (aged
15 years and over); tourism demand (participation, trips, nights, and
expenditure); participation in tourism for
personal purposes; number of tourism trips; number of tourism nights; and
expenditure on tourism trips.
Methodological description of survey
The National Tourism Survey is an
enquiry which is carried out using a random sample of around 1,800 persons aged
15 years and over residing in private households per quarter. The selection of participants is conducted on
a stratified random basis using sex, age and district as stratification
variables.
The collection mode for National
Tourism is by means of telephone interviews (CATI). Quarterly surveys collect the information on
trips and on participation in tourism. In the fourth quarter, additional
questions are added to collect the annual data on participation in
tourism. The aim is to collect
information on the number of overnight outbound and domestic trips.
Accuracy and
reliability of data
Raw data is checked for
inconsistencies and missing values. The
electronic questionnaire facilitates the inclusion of validation and
consistency checks and thus validation of data is possible during the data
collection phase. Once the data is
collected, further data cleaning and validations are done to ensure quality and
consistency of results and assess completeness and item non-response. Special attention is given to completed
fields on expenditures. Missing values for
expenditures are imputed using regression models basing on the destination,
departure month, type of accommodation and transportation variables. These rules are mainly based on the
definitions provided in the methodological manual prepared by Eurostat.
Timeliness and
punctuality of data
On a national level, no statistics related to participation
in tourism and trips are released but data is transmitted to Eurostat within
six months after the end of the reference period.
Accessibility and
clarity of data
A metadata report is submitted
annually to Eurostat within nine months after the end of the reference year.
Coherence and
comparability/consistency of data
Data is fully comparable with
other European countries since all requirements and recommendations laid down
by the regulation are met.
The current methodology for measuring
National Tourism in line with Eurostat recommendations in has been in place
since 2014. Up to 2013, data for total
outbound trips was collected by means of the ongoing border survey, while
information on the last three domestic trips was collected by means of an extra
module attached to the Labour Force Survey. As from reference year 2014, information on
the last three trips (outbound and domestic) is collected via the quarterly
CATI surveys. Due to this change in
methodology, National Tourism trips for 2014 were marked with a ‘break in
series’ flag.
The survey data concerning nights spent by
residents in domestic commercial accommodations is coherent with the results
from the accommodation statistics.
Questionnaire