The Canadian Experience in Developing and Using the Tourism Satellite Account

Abstract

Governments throughout the world are under increasing pressure to give special treatment to tourism in terms of distinct recognition in the structures of government, devoted programmes and funding, subsidies and public-sector promotion. In Canada, the development of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) was an important step in obtaining such recognition and support. This article summarizes the results obtained from the TSA and their uses, as well as the lines of investigation taken in developing the Canadian TSA: the basic concepts, the methodological approaches and challenges. It then examines how Canada's national tourism industry and the national tourism agency, the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC), have used the results of the TSA, and what benefits emerged from their use. Next, it reveals what extensions have been developed beyond the basic account and what results and further implications have emerged from these extensions. The final section of the paper examines future developments envisaged in the Canadian context.