Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning European statistics on tourism

Regulation (EU) No 692/2011 on European tourism statistics established a common framework for the systematic development, production and dissemination of statistics on tourism in the European Union. It reflected the changes in the nature of the tourism economy and of tourist behaviour that had occurred since the entry into force of Council Directive 95/57/EC, and it responded to the ensuing changes in user needs.

Article 7 of the Regulation states that: ‘By 12 August 2016 and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission shall submit an evaluation report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the statistics compiled pursuant to this Regulation and, in particular, on their relevance and the burden on business’. The present report is the first report submitted pursuant to the above article.

This report gives an overview of European statistics on tourism, in particular the requirements laid down in the Regulation; gives an overview of and rationale for the implementing measures and delegated acts adopted; takes stock of how the Regulation has been implemented, with reference to the established quality criteria for official statistics; focuses on measures taken to reduce the burden on businesses; and finally, takes a forward look at measures that could be considered with a view to update the legal framework, in light of the conclusions of earlier sections. It also assesses the impact that new user needs and new data sources could have on the system of tourism statistics set out in the Regulation.

ESO: Background information: Statistics: Tourism http://www.europeansources.info/record/website-statistics-tourism/

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