This document provides an overview of Module 1 of a tourism-oriented policy training program on understanding tourism and its statistics. The module aims to define tourism, discuss key tourism concepts and statistics, and examine the economic, social, cultural, and political impacts of tourism. It explores topics like visitor and trip characteristics, tourism products, accommodations, transportation, and introduces international tourism data sources. Upon completing the module, participants will understand what constitutes tourism and how it is measured statistically.

1. TRAINING PROGRAM COURSE 2:
TOURISM ORIENTED POLICY
MODULE 1: UNDERSTANDING
TOURISM AND ITS STATISTICS

2. The aim of the training «Understanding Tourism and its Statistics» is to:
• Give to the participants the idea of tourism phenomena,
• Discover the nature and explain the definition and statistics of tourism,
• Build background for whole traning course.
In the result of the training the participants will:
• Know what is tourism, the definition and the nature,
• Have idea about the conceptual background of tourism statistics: economy of reference, residence, usual
environment, citizenship and nationality, and know who is visitor and who is tourist,
• Have idea about the characteristics of the visitor and tourism trips,
• Are aware of the phenomena of tourism and its economic, social, cultural and political role.
• Know the sources of international tourism statistics, are able to find statistical data, to do comparison and minimal
analysis,
• Know the sources and methodology of Armenian tourism statistics, are able to find statistical data, to do
comparison and minimal analysis,
• Have necessary base and motivation for the whole training course.

3. According to the UNWTO Glossary of Tourism
Terms: Tourism is a social, cultural and economic
phenomenon which entails the movement of
people to countries or places outside their usual
environment for personal or business/professional
purposes. These people are called visitors (which
may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or
non-residents) and tourism has to do with their
activities, some of which involve tourism
expenditure.
What is Tourism

4. Conceptual Background for Tourism Statistics
1. Economy of Reference- Economic territory of the country of reference
2. Residence - Country of residence, place of usual residence (within a country).
3. Citizenship and nationality
4. Usual Environment-The usual environment of an individual, a key concept in tourism, is
defined as the geographical area (though not necessarily a contiguous one) within which
an individual conducts his/her regular life routines.
5. Visitor -A visitor is a traveler taking a trip to a main destination outside his/her usual
environment, for less than a year, for any main purpose (business, leisure or other
personal purpose) other than to be employed by a resident entity in the country or place
visited.
6. Tourist-A visitor is classified as a tourist (or overnight visitor), if his/her trip includes an
overnight stay, or as a same-day visitor (or excursionist) otherwise.

5. Characteristics of the visitor
Visitor characteristics refer to the following:
• Sex
• Age
• Economic Activity status
• Occupation
• Income
• Education

6. Characteristics of tourism trips
Main Purpose
Personal: This category includes all purposes of tourism trips that are not classified as
business and professional.
• Holidays, leisure and recreation
• Visiting friends and relatives
• Education and training
• Health and medical care
• Religion/pilgrimages
• Shopping
• Transit
• Other
Business and professional.

7. Types of the tourism product
• culinary tourism
• city tourism
• sun-and-sand tourism
• agro-tourism
• health tourism
• winter tourism, etc.
Duration of the trip or visit
Origin and Destination

8. Modes of the transports
N Major groups Minor Groups
1. Air Transport 1. Scheduled flight
2. Unscheduled flight
3. Private aircraft
4. Other modes of air transport
2. Water Transport 1. Passenger line or ferry
2. Cruise ship
3. Yacht
4. Other modes of water transport
3. Land Transport 1. Railway
2. Motor coach or bus and other public road transportation
3. Vehicle rental with driver
• Taxis, limousines and rental of private motor vehicles with driver
• Rental of man or animal drawn vehicles
1. Owned private vehicle (with capacity for up to 8 persons)
2. Rented vehicle without operator (with capacity for up to 8 persons)
3. Other modes of land transport: horseback, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.
4. On foot

9. Types of accommodation
Short Term Accommodation Activities include:
• Hotels
• Resort hotels
• Suite / apartment hotels
• Motels
• Motor hotels
• Guesthouses
• Pensions
• Bed and Breakfast Units
• Visitor flats and bungalows
• Time-share units
• Holiday homes
• Chalets, housekeeping cottages and cabins
• Youth hostels and mountain refuges

10. Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks
include:
• Provision of accommodation in campgrounds, trailer parks,
recreational camps and fishing and hunting camps for short
stay visitors
• Provision of space and facilities for recreational vehicles
• Accommodation provided by protective shelters or plain
bivouac facilities for placing tents and/or sleeping bags
Other accommodation include accommodation provided by:
• Student residences
• School dormitories
• Workers hostels
• Rooming and boarding houses
• Railway sleeping cars

11. Tourism Phenomena
Economic role
Sustainable Tourism generates additional and rising demand
on products and services in destination and thus contributes
to:
• economic growth
• equal and sustainable territorial economic development
• decentralization of economy and community development
• stimulation of investments
• job creation
• wellbeing and higher living standards of local people
• National and community’s revenues
• Revenues of national and local governments

12. Social -Cultural- Environmental role
Sustainable Tourism also generates demand on social, cultural and
natural resources and thus contributes to:
• Raising local awareness of value (including financial) of traditions,
cultural and natural resources,
• Stimulation of feeling of pride for national and local heritage
• Preservation, development and promotion of national and local
social, cultural and natural heritage
• Cultural diversity
• Intercultural dialogue
• Environmental awareness raising
• Environmental preservation and protection and financial
contribution to that
• Infrastructure development
• Human recourse development
• Wellbeing of people and local communities

13. Political role
Sustainable Tourism also has a power to use tourism, heritage,
all tourism recourses and intercultural dialogue and thus
contribute to:
• International reputation of and respect to nations,
communities and states
• Preservation and pride of national identity
• International understanding
• Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and
freedoms for all without distinction of any kind such as
race, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, age, birth or
other status

14. International Tourism Statistical Data
Travel and tourism impact
on economy in 2019
• US$8.9 trillion
contribution to the
world’s GDP
• 10.3% of global GDP
• 330 million jobs, 1 in 10
jobs around the world
• US$1.7 trillion visitor
exports (6.8% of total
exports, 28.3% of global
services exports)
• US$948 billion capital
investment (4.3% of total
investment)

19. Global tourism experienced a 4% upturn in 2021,
compared to 2020 (415 million versus 400 million).
However, international tourist arrivals (overnight
visitors) were still 72% below the pre-pandemic
year of 2019 .
The economic contribution of tourism in 2021
(measured in tourism direct gross domestic
product) is estimated at US$1.9 trillion, above the
US$1.6 trillion in 2020, but still well below the pre-
pandemic value of US$ 3.5 trillion.
Export revenues from international tourism could
exceed US$700 billion in 2021, a small
improvement over 2020 due to higher spending
per trip, but less than half the US$1.7 trillion
recorded in 2019.

21. 1
TRAINING PROGRAM COURSE 2: TOURISM ORIENTED POLICY
MODULE 1 - UNDERSTANDING TOURISM AND ITS STATISTICS
Contents
What is Tourism.........................................................................................................................................2
Conceptual Background for Tourism Statistics..........................................................................................2
Characteristics of the visitor ......................................................................................................................3
Characteristics of tourism trips..................................................................................................................3
Types of the tourism product ....................................................................................................................4
Duration of the trip or visit ........................................................................................................................5
Origin and Destination...............................................................................................................................5
Modes of the transports............................................................................................................................5
Types of accommodation...........................................................................................................................6
Tourism Phenomena..................................................................................................................................7
International Tourism Statistical Data.......................................................................................................8
Tourism Statistics Development in our countries .....................................................................................9
References ...............................................................................................................................................10

22. 2
What is Tourism
Definition of Tourism
According to the UNWTO Glossary of Tourism Terms -Tourism is a social, cultural and economic
phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their usual
environment for personal or business/professional purposes. These people are called visitors (which
may be either tourists or excursionists; residents or non-residents) and tourism has to do with their
activities, some of which involve tourism expenditure.
Nature of Tourism
Tourism in nature is Journey and Stay.
It is temporary life outside of our usual environment.
In other words, as a tourist activity, we leave our usual environment for a destination, where we
spend a part of our life, mainly different from usual.
And tourism destination is not only a territory with its borders, infrastructures and services, but it is
also lifestyle there.
As the life is interesting and original in destination as the destination is attractive and competitive.
The Tour Operator is the Composer of and Responsible for Tourist’s life in Destination.
Conceptual Background for Tourism Statistics
According to the UNWTO Glossary of Terms and International Recommendations for Tourism
Statistics the basic concepts in tourism statistics are the following:
Economy of Reference- Economic territory of the country of reference
In order to establish without ambiguity, the geographical and economic links of activities related to
tourism, it is necessary to define precisely the terminology used. The term “economic territory” is a
geographical reference and points to the country for which the measurement is done (country of
reference). “Economy” (or“economy of reference”) is an economic reference defined in the same way
as in the balance of payments and in the System of National Accounts: it refers to the economic
agents that are resident in the country of reference.
Residence - Country of residence, place of usual residence (within a country).
The concept of residence allows for the classification of visitors according to their place of origin and
for the characterization of their destination, thus making it possible to distinguish the different forms
of tourism.
Citizenship and nationality
The concept of “country of residence” of a traveler is different from that of his/her nationality or
citizenship. The traveler is usually a national or citizen of the country whose Government issues
his/her passport (or other identification document) even if he/she resides in another country. A
traveler might have more than one passport and thus more than one citizenship. In some countries, in
statistical operations at the border or elsewhere, only the nationality of the traveler as stated in the
passport that is presented is taken into consideration. Nevertheless, although frequently used in

23. 3
migration statistics, the concept of citizenship is not part of the requirements or definitions of tourism
statistics.
While nationality is indicated in the traveller’s passport, the country of residence has to be
determined by means of a question.
It is recommended that travelers (and visitors) be classified on the basis of their country of residence.
Usual Environment
The usual environment of an individual, a key concept in tourism, is defined as the geographical area
(though not necessarily a contiguous one) within which an individual conducts his/her regular life
routine.
The purpose of introducing the concept of usual environment is to exclude from visitors those
travelers commuting regularly between their place of usual residence and place of work or study, or
frequently visiting places within their current liferoutine, for instance homes of friends or relatives,
shopping centers, religious, healthcare or any other facilities that might be at a substantial distance
away or in a different administrative area but are regularly and frequently visited.
Visitor
A visitor is a traveler taking a trip to a main destination outside his/her usual environment, for less
than a year, for any main purpose (business, leisure or other personal purpose) other than to be
employed by a resident entity in the country or place visited.
Tourist
A visitor is classified as a tourist (or overnight visitor), if his/her trip includes an overnight stay, or as a
same-day visitor (or excursionist) otherwise.
Characteristics of the visitor
Personal characteristics of visitors should be collected either through administrative procedures (for
example, entry/departure cards, control information collected in collective accommodation
establishments, etc.) or through household or border surveys or at specific places or in particular
circumstances associated with the trip. Visitor characteristics refer to the following:
• Sex
• Age
• Economic Activity status
• Occupation
• Income
• Education
When relevant, other characteristics should also be included, such as the population of the place of
usual residence, place of birth and proximity to the national or administrative borders, since these
factors influence propensity to travel.
Characteristics of tourism trips
Main Purpose
Each tourism trip has main purpose though a visitor can also undertake secondary activities while on
his/her trip.

24. 4
Each main purpose (except Transit) is associated with a group of main activities undertaken during the
trip as follows:
Personal: This category includes all purposes of tourism trips that are not classified as business and
professional.
• Holidays, leisure and recreation
• Visiting friends and relatives
• Education and training
• Health and medical care
• Religion/pilgrimages
• Shopping
• Transit
• Other
Business and professional. This category includes the activities of the self-employed and employees
as long as they do not correspond to an implicit or explicit employer employee relationship with a
resident producer in the country or place visited, those of investors, businessmen, etc. It also includes,
for example:
• attending meetings, conferences or congresses, trade fairs and exhibitions
• giving lectures, concerts, shows and plays
• promoting, purchasing, selling or buying goods or services on behalf of non-resident
producers (of the country or place visited)
• participating in foreign Government missions as diplomatic, military or international
organization personnel, except when stationed on duty in the country visited
• participating in non-governmental organization missions
• participating in scientific or academic research
• programming tourism travel, contracting accommodation and transport services, working as
guides or other tourism professionals for non-resident agencies (of the country or place
visited)
• participating in professional sports activities
• attending formal or informal on-the-job training courses
• being part of crews on a private mode of transport (corporate jet, yacht, etc.).
Types of the tourism product
A “tourism product” represents a combination of different aspects (characteristics of the places
visited, modes of transport, types of accommodation, specific activities at destination, etc.) around a
specific centre of interest, such as nature tours, life on farms, visits to historical and cultural sites,
visits to a particular city, the practice of specific sports, the beach, etc. This notion of “tourism
product” is not related to the concept of “product” used in economic statistics, but rather to that used
by professionals in the tourism business to market specific packages or destinations.
It is then possible to speak of specific types of “tourism products”, such as:
• culinary tourism
• city tourism
• sun-and-sand tourism
• agro-tourism

25. 5
• health tourism
• winter tourism, etc.
This classification is increasingly requested and used by tourism stakeholders as a marketing tool.
Because these “products” are still not sufficiently characterized in a uniform way, there is no
international recommendation for the use of this type of classification.
Duration of the trip or visit
The volume of tourism can be characterized by the number of trips, and also by the number of nights.
The duration of a trip is an important input in assessing the level of demand for tourism services, such
as overnight accommodation services. Determining its duration is essential for estimating expenditure
associated with a trip or visit.
The total duration of a trip as perceived and reported by a visitor may be different from the sum of
the durations of the stays in the places visited, because of the time spent travelling to/from and
between places.
The duration of a trip that includes an overnight stay is expressed in terms of the number of nights.
No adjustment should be made to take into consideration trips beginning early on the first day and
finishing late on the last day of the trip. Trips that do not involve an overnight stay have to be
considered same-day trips irrespective of the number of hours spent on the trip.
Origin and Destination
For inbound trips, it is essential to classify all arrivals by country of residence rather than by
nationality. Itis in the country of residence where the decisions are taken and implemented regarding
the organization of the trip. For outbound trips, departures should be classified according to the main
destination of the trip.
The same classification of countries and territories should be used for classifying both residence and
outbound destination and should be based on the Standard Country or Area Codes for Statistical Use
of the United Nations Statistics Division.
For subnational analysis of domestic tourism, it is also essential to characterize trips according to the
place of usual residence of the visitor, his/her personal characteristics and the main destination of the
trip. This information, usually collected through household surveys, is often represented in matrices
showing the number and duration of trips by origin and destination.
Modes of the transports
The modes of transport usually refer to the main mode used by the visitor on the trip. This main mode
might be established in different ways and be based, for example on:
• The mode on which the most miles/kilometers are travelled
• The mode on which most time is spent
• The mode which has the highest share of the total transport cost.
The standard classification of modes of transport is as follows:
N Major groups Minor Groups
1. Air Transport 1. Scheduled flight
2. Unscheduled flight
3. Private aircraft
4. Other modes of air transport
2. Water Transport 1. Passenger line or ferry
2. Cruise ship

26. 6
3. Yacht
4. Other modes of water transport
3. Land Transport 1. Railway
2. Motor coach or bus and other public road
transportation
3. Vehicle rental with driver
• Taxis, limousines and rental of private
motor vehicles with driver
• Rental of man or animal drawn
vehicles
4. Owned private vehicle (with capacity for up to
8 persons)
5. Rented vehicle without operator (with
capacity for up to 8 persons)
6. Other modes of land transport: horseback,
bicycle, motorcycle, etc.
7. On foot
Types of accommodation
Overnight visitors usually require some type of accommodation in which to spend the night, and
accommodation often represents a significant share of the overall trip expenditure. An important field
of tourism policy has to do with the development of hotels and other types of accommodation, and
tourism authorities request statistics on the type of short-term accommodation used by visitors in
order to forecast demand for different types of accommodation.
Short-term accommodation might be provided either on a commercial (market) basis, that is, as a
paid service, even when the value charged to the user might be subsidized, or on a non-commercial
(non-market) basis, that is, as a service provided by family, friends or relatives, without charge, or on
own account (owner-occupied vacation homes). Visitors might also choose not to use any type of
produced accommodation service, as is the case of backpackers sleeping in the open.
While outright purchase of vacation or holiday homes has always been an alternative to using other
types of short-term accommodation, recently, new forms of acquisition and leasehold of holiday
homes have emerged. These include timeshares, condo hotels, fractionals, private clubs and other
forms of shared use and ownership that blur the line between what is described as paid
accommodation and what is described as ownership of real estate or vacation homes. Given the
nature and complexity of these arrangements, it becomes difficult for the visitor to identify and
inform precisely about the type of accommodation or real estate services used.
Owing to the newly revised international classifications of activities and products (the International
Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC, Rev. 4 and the Central Product
Classification (CPC), Ver. 2) which now form the basis of the lists of tourism characteristic products
and activities for the analysis of visitor accommodation services, the standard classification of tourism
accommodation in the 1993 Recommendations needs to be revised. An international consultation
process including national statistical offices, national tourism authorities and international
organizations will be launched once agreed to and once the companion guide to ISIC, Rev. 4 and the
CPC, Ver. 2 are finalized.
According to ISIC:

27. 7
Short Term Accommodation Activities include:
• Hotels
• Resort hotels
• Suite / apartment hotels
• Motels
• Motor hotels
• Guesthouses
• Pensions
• Bed and Breakfast Units
• Visitor flats and bungalows
• Time-share units
• Holiday homes
• Chalets, housekeeping cottages and cabins
• Youth hostels and mountain refuges
Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks include:
• Provision of accommodation in campgrounds, trailer parks, recreational camps and
fishing and hunting camps for short stay visitors
• Provision of space and facilities for recreational vehicles
• Accommodation provided by protective shelters or plain bivouac facilities for placing
tents and/or sleeping bags
Other accommodation include accommodation provided by:
• Student residences
• School dormitories
• Workers hostels
• Rooming and boarding houses
• Railway sleeping cars
Tourism Phenomena
Economic role
Sustainable Tourism generates additional and rising demand on products and services in destination
and thus contributes to:
• economic growth
• equal and sustainable territorial economic development
• decentralization of economy and community development
• stimulation of investments
• job creation
• wellbeing and higher living standards of local people
• National and community’s revenues
• Revenues of national and local governments

28. 8
Tourism also is a powerful tool to balance exchange rate.
Finally, tourism feeds all other branches of economy and is fed by them.
Social -Cultural- Environmental role
Sustainable Tourism also generates demand on social, cultural and natural resources and thus
contributes to:
• Raising local awareness of value (including financial) of traditions, cultural and natural
resources,
• Stimulation of feeling of pride for national and local heritage
• Preservation, development and promotion of national and local social, cultural and
natural heritage
• Cultural diversity
• Intercultural dialogue
• Environmental awareness raising
• Environmental preservation and protection and financial contribution to that
• Infrastructure development
• Human recourse development
• Wellbeing of people and local communities
Political role
Sustainable Tourism also has a power to use tourism, heritage, all tourism recourses and intercultural
dialogue and thus contribute to:
• International reputation of and respect to nations, communities and states
• Preservation and pride of national identity
• International understanding
• Universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and freedoms for all without
distinction of any kind such as race, color, gender, language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin, property, age, birth or other status
• PEACE
International Tourism Statistical Data
Number of international tourism visits
According to the UNWTO World Tourism barometer Global tourism experienced a 4% upturn in 2021,
compared to 2020 (415 million versus 400 million). However, international tourist arrivals (overnight
visitors) were still 72% below the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to preliminary estimates by
UNWTO. This follows on from 2020, the worst year on record for tourism, when international arrivals
decreased by 73%.
Looking further ahead, most experts do not to see a return to pre-pandemic levels happening before
2023. In fact, 43% of respondents point to 2023, while 41% expect a return to 2019 levels will only
happen in 2024 or later. UNWTO’s extended scenarios for 2021-2024 indicate that it could take two-
and-a-half to four years for international tourism to return to 2019 levels.

29. 9
2019 was another year of strong growth, though international arrivals grew below the exceptional
rates seen in 2017 (+7%) and 2018 (+6%).
In 2019 international tourist arrivals grew +4% and reached 1,46 billion.
International tourism receipts
Average receipts per arrival are estimated to reach US$1,500 in 2021, up from US$1,300 in 2020 and
US$1,00 in 2019. This is due to large pent-up savings and longer lengths of stay, as well as
higher transport and accommodation prices.
Revenues from international tourism could reach US$ 700-800 billion in 2021, a small improvement
from 2020 but less than half the US$ 1.7 trillion recorded in 2019.
In 2019 total international tourism receipts grew +3% and reached 1,481 trillion. And total export
revenues from tourism reached 1,7 trillion = receipts in destinations+passenger transport.
Purpose of visits
Leisure travel is the main purpose of visit in all world regions except the Middle East, where visiting
friends and relatives (VFR), or for health or religious purposes predominates. The share of leisure
travel has grown from 50% in 2000 to 55% in 2019.
Leisure, recreation, holidays – 55%
VFR, health, religion, other - 28%
Business and professional - 11%
Not Specified – 6%
Mode of Transport
The share of air travel has increased from 46% in 2000 to 59% in 2019, while land transport has
decreased from 49% to 35% in the same period.
Air – 59%
Road – 35%
Water – 5%
Train – 1%
Tourism Statistics Development in our countries
According to the Statistics Committee UNWTO World Tourism barometer Global tourism experienced
a 2,4 times upturn in 2021, compared to 2020 (870.000 versus 360.000). However, international
tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) were still 54% below the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (1.894.000).
This follows on from 2020, the worst year on record for tourism, when international arrivals
decreased by 81%.
Methodology development in our countries

30. 10
References
1. GLOSSARY OF TOURISM TERMS, https://www.unwto.org/glossary-tourism-terms
2. International Recommendations for Tourism Statistics 2008,
https://unstats.un.org/unsd/tradeserv/tourism/08-
40120%20IRTS%202008_WEB_final%20version%20_22%20February%202010.pdf
3. Tourism, culture and sustainable development,
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000147578
4. TOURISM GROWS 4% IN 2021 BUT REMAINS FAR BELOW PRE-PANDEMIC LEVELS,
https://www.unwto.org/news/tourism-grows-4-in-2021-but-remains-far-below-pre-pandemic-
levels
5. Sustainable tourism: Contribution to economic growth and sustainable development,
https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/ciem5d2_en.pdf
6. International Tourism Highlights, 2020 Edition, https://www.e-
unwto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284422456
7. Business Statistics and Registers, https://slideplayer.com/slide/6664509