EU Regulation No 692/2011 of 6 July 2011 on European Statistics On Tourism

Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2011 concerning European statistics on tourism and repealing Council Directive 95/57/EC

A new Regulation concerning European statistics on tourism has recently been adopted and will deliver better harmonised and faster information compared to Directive 95/57.

Dating from the 1990s, the legal basis for official statistics on tourism needed an update in order to reflect recent trends in tourism demand and supply and changed user needs.

From reference year 2012 onwards, accommodation statistics will include bedroom occupancy rates and main indicators for monthly data will be available after 2 months.

Explicit references to the NACE classification will guarantee a better coherence with business statistics and estimates of total internal tourism will improve.
Also household surveys will deliver more information on tourism demand as well on reasons for not participating in tourism. From 2014 onwards, data on same-day visits will gradually be introduced.

Finally, the Regulation foresees pilot studies on tourism satellite accounts (TSA) and on the effects of tourism on the environment.
 

ENAT comment:
According to the new Regulation, destinations will be obliged to declare the numbers of establishments which have rooms for "people with reduced mobility, including wheelchair users". This is a step in the right direction: it will help to raise awareness and establish more clearly the extent of some of the provisions for accessible tourism throughout Europe. However, the numbers of visitors with reduced mobility or long-term health problems who actually use either the adapted rooms or tourist facilities in general will not be counted. It is disappointing that Visitor Surveys will not record the numbers of disabled people travelling and using tourist facilities, as this would give a vital indication of the size (and hence the value) of the accessible tourism market in Europe.
The Regulation includes provisions for  Household Surveys, in the future, whereby respondents may indicate that they do not travel for reasons connected with "Health or Disability". This is important information but it is a pity that comparative figures will not be available to show how many disabled visitors actually do travel. Statistics gathered for the UK Visitor Survey in 2009 showed that 11% of the overnight stays were by people who had a disability or long-term health condition. (VisitEngland).   

Download the text of the Regulation in PDF format  from the right-hand panel

For an in-depth explanation of the Commission's justification for this Regulation, see the following webpage