Application of the TSA in a regional context: the case of Vienna

Purpose – Tourism satellite accounts (TSA) are important tools for demonstrating the economic impact of tourism on a country and state level. A regional TSA (RTSA) offers the statistical groundwork for theoretical as well as practical users to underpin their own statistical evaluations and analyses, providing a regionalised view of consumption by tourists. This paper aims to extend TSA with respect to the indirect effects of tourism and the leisure demand of residents in their usual environment. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on the recommended framework for TSA‐building. The case study of Vienna will demonstrate the valuable information of a RTSA as city tourism is a very complex phenomenon and this impact is difficult to capture. Findings – For 2006, the TSA method found that tourism made €1.36 billion in direct value added to Vienna's economy, or a share of 1.9 per cent of the Viennese gross regional product. Considering the direct and indirect effects of tourism a total value‐added of €4.05 billion for Vienna in 2006 is obtained. According to this figure, tourism contributed 5.7 per cent to the overall regional gross value added in Vienna. In taking an overall look at the expenditure on leisure‐time consumption and in the non‐usual environment (tourism), it is found that Vienna contributes €8.11 billion or 11.5 per cent to the gross regional product. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first papers about building a TSA for a city. Vienna was the first state to commission a regional TSA (RTSA), followed by Upper and Lower Austria.