Sophisticated Modelling Tools of the Economic Analysis of Tourism

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2017 in the subject Tourism - Miscellaneous, , language: English, abstract: Economic impact refers to the changes in the economic contribution resulting from specific events or activities that comprise 'shocks' to the tourism system. Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) are a statistical tool. They are used to report how much the tourism sector has contributed to an economy and how important the tourism sector is compared to other sectors in the economy. Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) tourism model can provide more realistic analytical recommendations to policy makers. More specifically, the model can be used to measure economy-wide yield for tourism destinations. The paper first outlines the nature and importance of TSAs as a measure of the economic contribution of tourism to an economy. TSAs based estimates of the direct contribution of tourism in Australia are provided to illustrate the use of this tool. The paper then discusses the importance of developing TSAs at the regional level and the approaches that can be employed (bottom up, top down, mixed), as well as the limitations of TSAs as a policy instrument. It then discusses CGE modelling as a tool of economic impact analysis providing CGE based estimates of the economic impacts of increased inbound tourism to Queensland to illustrate the use of this technique. The analysis is expected to enhance stakeholder understanding the separate roles that TSAs and CGE modelling can play in determining the economic significance of tourism to an economy.