Commission Decision of 9 December 1998 on the procedures for implementing Council Directive 95/57/EC on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism (notified under document number C(1998) 3950) (Text with EEA relevance) (1999/34/EC) (repealed)

2.1. DEFINITIONS OF TOURISM

Tourism

Definition:

The activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.

Tourism is a subset of travel, when travel is understood in a broad sense meaning a movement from one place to another. Tourism covers the worldwide travel market within the general framework of population mobility and the provision of services for visitors. Tourism means the practice of travelling outside a person's usual environment for all purposes. However, some non-voluntary purposes of trips are excluded by convention: non-voluntary stays in hospital and other medical institutions providing clinical/medical treatment, which is prescribed by a doctor, are excluded. Other non-voluntary exclusions include stays in prison and stays in military service (note that vacations from the institutions may be normally included in tourism).

In relation to a given country, three forms of tourism can be distinguished:

Definitions:

(i)

Domestic tourism comprises the activities of residents of a given country travelling to and staying in places only within that country but outside their usual environment.

(ii)

Inbound tourism comprises the activities of non-residents of a given country travelling to and staying in places in that country and outside their usual environment.

(iii)

Outbound tourism comprises the activities of residents of a given country travelling to and staying in places outside that country and outside their usual environment.

Similar definitions can be used for other areas, regions or group of countries by replacing ‘country’ with the area of reference. The three forms of tourism can be combined in three ways to derive the following categories of tourism:

(i)

internal tourism, which comprises ‘domestic tourism’ and ‘inbound tourism’;

(ii)

national tourism, which comprises ‘domestic tourism’ and ‘outbound tourism’;

(iii)

international tourism, which consists of ‘inbound tourism’ and ‘outbound tourism’.

Traveller

Definition:

Any person on a trip between two or more countries or between two or more places within his/her country of residence.

Visitor

Definition:

Any person travelling to a place other than that of his/her usual environment for less than 12 months and whose main purpose of trip is other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited.

Visitors (domestic/international) comprise:

Tourist

Definition:

Visitors who stay at least one night in a collective or private accommodation in the place/country visited.

and

(Same-)day visitor

Definition:

Visitors who do not spend the night in a collective or private accommodation in the place/country visited.

The three fundamental criteria that are used to distinguish visitors from other travellers are as follows:

(i)

The trip should be to a place other than that of the usual environment, which would exclude short-distance local transport and commuting, i.e. more or less regular trips between the place of work/study and the place of residence.

(ii)

The stay in the place visited should not last more than 12 consecutive months, beyond which the visitor would become a resident of that place (from the statistical standpoint).

(iii)

The main purpose of the visit should be other than the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited, which would exclude migratory movements for work purposes.

The following categories of travellers should not be included in international visitor arrivals and departures:

(i)

Persons entering or leaving a country as migrants, including dependants accompanying or joining them.

(ii)

Persons, known as border workers, residing near the border in one country and working in another.

(iii)

Diplomats, consular officers and members of the armed forces when travelling from their country of origin to the country of their assignment or vice-versa, including dependants and household employees accompanying or joining them.

(iv)

Persons travelling as refugees or nomads.

(v)

Persons in transit who do not formally enter the country through passport control, such as air transit passengers who remain for a short period in a designated area of the air terminal or ship passengers who are not permitted to disembark. This category would include passengers transferred directly between airports or other terminals. Other passengers in transit through a country are classified as visitors.

The following categories of trips should not be included in domestic visitor arrivals and departures:

(i)

Residents travelling to another place within the country with the intention of setting up their usual residence in that place.

(ii)

Persons who travel to another place within the country to exercise an activity remunerated from within the place visited.

(iii)

Persons who travel to work temporarily in institutions within the country.

(iv)

Persons who travel regularly or frequently between neighbouring localities to work or study.

(v)

Nomads and persons without fixed residence.

(vi)

Armed forces on manoeuvre.

Section C of the annex to the Directive is only concerned with tourists and overnight trips. Hence, same-day visitors and trips are excluded. Cruises may be separated already at the beginning of the inquiry (depending on survey) as well as overnight trips in one or several locations.

Usual environment

Definition:

The usual environment of a person consists of the direct vicinity of his/her home and place of work or study, and other places frequently visited.

The concept of usual environment has two dimensions, vicinity and frequency. Places located close to the place of residence of a person are part of the usual environment even though they may be rarely visited. Places that are frequently (= on average once a week or more often), on a routine basis, visited are part of the usual environment of a person, even though they may be located at a considerable distance (or in another country) from the place of residence. There is only one usual environment for a person and the concept is applicable in domestic as well as in international tourism. Persons who work in means of transport (lorry drivers, rail crew, airline pilots and hostesses, etc.), travelling sales representatives or agents are included in tourism as business travellers, unless their trips, especially domestic trips, consist of frequent routine travel, in which case they can be excluded by the usual environment criterion.

Purpose of trip

Definition:

There is only one main purpose for a trip, in the absence of which the trip would not have taken place.

The Directive separates between two main reasons to travel:

(i)

business and professional;

(ii)

holidays, recreation or leisure.

Holidays due to ‘Visits to friends and relatives’ should be included in point (ii).

Place/country of origin

Definition:

This is the place/country from which the trip originates. It is usually the same as the place and country of residence.

The trip may also start from the place of work or education. This is not relevant for tourism since the place of residence may still be considered as the origin. When people live in another place than their usual residence during the survey period (e.g. short-term migrants and seasonal workers), this place should be taken as the origin. For day trips the place of origin may be the second regular residence of the person although it is useful to distinguish them from trips originating from the first residence.