6.34.                  Because accommodation services are provided under various modes, their measurement needs to be adapted accordingly, as described below for each of the modes previously enumerated.

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B.2.3.  Providers of non market accommodation services free of charge: visitors staying with friends and relatives, and barter transactions

6.55.                  As explained previously (see paras. 6.30 and 6.31), such transactions are not subject to economic measurement, since they do not add any production of services to the economy. For the sake of coherence and consistency between demand and supply statistics, and of obtaining a complete picture of tourism accommodation, the number of stays and overnights can be estimated from the supply side using a household survey in which overnights spent in the home by visitors and exchanged overnights are measured. 

6.56.                  This implies that specific surveys of resident households designed to measure their tourism activity as visitors (as noted in Chapter III and Chapter IV) should also aim at collecting information on their activity as providers of for‑profit services (homestay programmes, for instance) or free accommodation services. If these accommodation providers are identified as for profit they should be reclassified as “providers of market accommodation services”.

Box VI.4 

Estimating the importance of staying with family and friends:   example of Romania 

In Romania, staying   with family and friends is by far the most important form of accommodation   used by visitors, both residents and non‑residents. According to the figures   for the first semester of 2009, stays with family and friends represented 58   percent of all non‑resident guest accommodation and more than 80 percent of   all non‑resident overnights. A household survey has been proposed to also   measure the incidence of same‑day trips taken by residents and the provision   of services to non‑resident households. A pilot for such a survey was   conducted in 2009.

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Source: Romania,   National   Institute of Statistics and National Institute   of Research Development in Tourism.

 

 

B.2.4.  Providers of non market accommodation services for own final use: owner occupied vacation homes and timeshares

6.57.                  Regarding the “classical” owner‑occupied vacation home, the first issue for a country is to identify dwellings used for that purpose, a task for tourism statisticians. The second issue is then to associate with such dwellings an imputed annual rent to represent the value of the service, that value being an estimation of a tourism product. Such a task is the responsibility of national accountants when they are developing a TSA. The United Nations publication providing recommendations for housing censuses indicates how countries should identify dwellings not intended for year‑round occupancy (see Box VI.5).

Box VI.5 

Principles and recommendations for population and housing censuses 

3.   Occupancy status (core topic)

Recommended   tabulation: H4-R

2.463.   Information should be obtained for each conventional dwelling to show whether   the dwelling is occupied or vacant at the time of the census. For vacant   units intended for year‑round occupancy, the type of vacancy (for rent, for   sale, and so forth) should be reported. Occupancy status applies only to   conventional dwellings, since all other types of living quarters are required   by definition to be occupied in order to fall within the scope of the census. 

Topics   to be investigated in housing censuses

2.464.   The enumeration of vacant conventional dwellings is likely to pose difficult   problems, but at least a total count should be made for purposes of   controlling the enumeration. The type of vacancy is frequently indicated by   “for sale” or “for rent” signs posted on the dwelling. Although it may not be   feasible to investigate all of the topics included in the census for vacant   units, as much information as possible should be collected, including   information on whether the living quarters are vacant seasonally or non‑seasonally. 

2.465.   Vacant units intended for seasonal occupancy may represent a substantial   proportion of the housing inventory in resort areas and in areas where large   numbers of seasonal workers are employed. The separate identification of such   a category may be necessary for the correct interpretation of the overall   vacancy rate, as well as for an evaluation of the housing situation in the   area concerned. Vacant units may be further distinguished according to the   type of occupancy for which they are intended, for example, as holiday home,   seasonal workers’ quarters and so forth. 

2.466.   Whether living quarters whose occupants are temporarily absent or temporarily   present should be recorded as occupied or vacant will need to be considered   in relation to whether a de jure or de facto population census is being   carried out. In either case, it would seem useful to distinguish as far as   possible conventional dwellings that are used as a second residence. This is   particularly important if the second residence has markedly different   characteristics from the primary residence, as is the case, for example, when   agricultural households move during certain seasons of the year from their   permanent living quarters in a village to rudimentary structures located on   agricultural holdings. The recommended classification of occupancy status for   conventional dwellings is as follows: 

1 Occupied

2 Vacant

                2.1 Seasonally vacant

                                2.1.1 Holiday   homes

                                2.1.2 Seasonal   workers’ quarters

                                2.1.3 Other

                2.2 Non‑seasonally vacant

                                2.2.1   Secondary residences

                                2.2.2 For rent

                                2.2.3 For sale

                                2.2.4 For   demolition

                                2.2.5 Other

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Source: United Nations (2008c).

6.58.                  On the basis of figures calculated for the census year, usually available with a detailed geographical breakdown, it will be possible to estimate the number of such dwellings in a current year. UNWTO has already developed some additional proposals for using different types of sources – censuses, surveys and administrative data – to determine the number and characteristics of vacation homes and identify those owned by non‑residents.

Box VI.6 

Vacant units: example of Australia 

The subject   of vacant units constitutes a policy issue for some regional areas in   Australia that are major tourist centres on weekends (e.g., Byron Bay).   During the week (census night normally falls on a Wednesday) the population   is much smaller. When funding is based on population, such centres remain   short on the infrastructure needed to accommodate the influx of the tourist   population.

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Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

6.59.                  As mentioned earlier, once the number of vacation homes used by their owners has been established, the associated rent can be estimated using the method recommended in the 2008 SNA. The same treatment needs to be applied to all other vacation homes, whether located in the visitor’s country of residence or in another country.

Box VI.7 

Estimation of rents in vacation homes 

In National Accounts, the   historical conventional method for estimating services produced by owner‑occupied   dwellings has been self‑assessment, where owners are asked to estimate a   potential rent for their property. The major problem associated with the self‑assessment   method lies in the largely subjective nature of the estimate, which leads to   substantial uncertainties owing to over‑ or underestimates (depending on the   precise circumstances).

For that reason, and given   the high proportion and growing relevance of owner‑occupied dwellings in some   European countries, Eurostat established the so‑called stratification method   as the best approach. 

The stratification method   uses information about actual rentals from rented dwellings to obtain an   estimate of the rental value of the stock of dwellings. Application of broad   underlying principle entails imputing to a given owner‑occupied property a   rental value, which is the same as the rental amount that would be paid for a   similar property in the market rental sector.   

The method is based on two   types of elements:

  •   A categorization or breakdown of housing stock among various strata   or types of dwellings
  •   Information about actual rentals paid in each stratum 

A stratification of the   housing stock is required in order for a reliable estimate to be obtained and   for including properly relative price differentials to be included.   Subsequently, the average actual rental per stratum is applied to all   dwellings in the particular stratum.

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Source: World Tourism Organization (2010b).

6.60.                  Timeshare constitutes a slightly different case: the “owner” of a timeshare dwelling has the right to use a unit of accommodation (a unique one, or one of a family of such units) for a limited fraction of time (usually a week or multiples of a week) every year repeatedly (or according to another established frequency) over a particular (10, 20 or more) or infinite number of years. This right can be conferred by a deed or by any other type of contract, in which case the contract most often does not grant ownership over a physical asset. 

6.61.                  The term “timeshare” covers a continuum of arrangements, ranging from an early prepayment of future holidays to real estate investment arrangements that vary from country to country and are highly dependent on the existing legal and tax setting. 

6.62.                  Schematically, one may say that there are three major types of arrangements: (a) deeded ownership, (b) the “right‑to‑use” type of ownership and (c) the membership system, subject to roughly the same conditions: an initial payment, and annual fees, including (a) annual management fees, (b) annual maintenance fees, (c) property taxes, (d) insurance and (e) occasional fees (special assessments) for major repairs and property refurbishment. 

6.63.                  The number of timeshare units can be established more easily than that of vacation homes. This is because the specialized entities that are usually in charge of managing such rentals are thus able to report on the number of paid‑for units which were actually rented.

Box VI.8 

Estimation of timeshare and vacation homes services: example of   Egypt 

Two surveys were conducted with   the assistance of the timeshare department of Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism:   one focused on touristic villages with units of timeshare with a view to exploring   the average imputed rent value and occupancy days, and the other covered on a   sample of timeshare companies that were operating that kind of unit to obtain   information on the annual fees paid by beneficiaries for use of timeshare   facilities (e.g., linen and cleaning services).

As for vacation homes   and furnished rented apartments, through the conduct of the Central Agency   for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) survey of income, expenditure   and consumption of households, was used to calculate the number of each kind   of unit, the time of usage and the average rent could be calculated.

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Source: Ministry of   Tourism of Egypt (2011).