OBJECTIVE: to establish an information system on tourism statistics at Community level (collection, compilation, processing and transmission of harmonised statistical information on tourism supply and demand).
COMMUNITY MEASURE: Council Directive 95/57/EC on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism.
SUBSTANCE: this directive defines the structure which will make it possible to progressively establish an exhaustive information system on tourism at European level. The data to be collected covers:
. the capacity of collective tourist accommodation establishments (hotels and similar establishments, tourist campsites, holiday dwellings, other collective accommodation establishments). These establishments will provide yearly information on the evolution of the structure and capacity of collective accommodation establishments broken down into national and regional level (NUTS III);
. guest flows in accommodation establishments, in other words, the number of visitors and number of nights spent by residents and non-residents and the capacity/occupancy ratio. These indicators will provide information on the annual and monthly occupancy of collective tourist accommodation establishments and on the origin and destination of the tourists (NUTS II);
. tourism demand in the two main tourist markets, in other words, national tourism and "outbound" tourism (holidays and business trips: data on the volume of tourism, number of tourists, number of nights spent, characteristics of the trips, profile of the tourist and tourist expenditure, etcetera). These indicators will provide tourism information on an annual and quarterly basis.
The directive does not impose the use of a specific method or technique for collecting data but ensures that the results are reliable and comparable by means of specific quality criteria and a procedure involving the Statistical Programme Committee. It recommends the use of the existing Community statistical tools.
IMPLEMENTATION: for the characteristics with annual periodicity, the first reference period for the directive shall begin on 1 January 1996 (NUTS III); for the monthly and quarterly characteristics, the first reference period shall begin on 1 January 1997. The directive provides for a transition period for countries that must adapt their statistical systems, lasting three years for monthly and annual data and five years for quarterly data.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 23 November 1996.
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