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The Survey for Tourist Movements at Borders and Tourist Spending is a continuous survey, the main objective of which is to provide monthly and annual estimates for the number of non-resident visitors in Spain that come to our country (tourists and hikers), as well as the main characteristics of the trips that are made (entry point, destination, country of residence, reason, method of organisation, expense, …).
Inbound Tourism: collects the trips made by the non-resident population in Spain.
The analysis units are the travellers, visitors (tourists and hikers), trips and day trips.
The population subject to study consists of:
The sample is collected from the main entry points for the non-resident travellers, both by road, airports, ports and railway.
Monthly information is available since October 2015. The information with the methodology from the surveys conducted by TURESPAÑA can be consulted on the organisation's website. (https://www.tourspain.es/en-us)
2015
Visitors (tourists and same day visitors)
Month
Data referred to the period: Mensual A: 2023 MES: 11
The compilation and dissemination of the data are governed by the Statistical Law No. 12/1989 "Public Statistical Function" of May 9, 1989, and Law No. 4/1990 of June 29 on “National Budget of State for the year 1990" amended by Law No. 13/1996 "Fiscal, administrative and social measures" of December 30, 1996, makes compulsory all statistics included in the National Statistics Plan. The National Statistical Plan 2009-2012 was approved by the Royal Decree 1663/2008. It contains the statistics that must be developed in the four year period by the State General Administration's services or any other entity dependent on it. All statistics included in the National Statistics Plan are statistics for state purposes and are obligatory. The National Statistics Plan 2021-2024, approved by Royal Decree 1110/2020, of 15 December, is the Plan currently implemented. This statistical operation has governmental purposes, and it is included in the National Statistics Plan 2021-2024. (Statistics of the State Administration).
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In the framework of the agreement for the transfer of the skills concerning these TURESPAÑA operations to the INE, a clause is included for the exchange of information.
The Statistical Law No. 12/1989 specifies that the INE cannot publish, or make otherwise available, individual data or statistics that would enable the identification of data for any individual person or entity. Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society
In the case of this survey, information that identifies the interviewees is never asked.
The advance release calendar that shows the precise release dates for the coming year is disseminated in the last quarter of each year.
The calendar is disseminated on the INEs Internet website (Publications Calendar)
The data are released simultaneously according to the advance release calendar to all interested parties by issuing the press release. At the same time, the data are posted on the INE's Internet website (www.ine.es/en) almost immediately after the press release is issued. Also some predefined tailor-made requests are sent to registered users. Some users could receive partial information under embargo as it is publicly described in the European Statistics Code of Practice
The diffusion frequency is monthly.
The results of the statistical operations are normally disseminated by using press releases that can be accessed via both the corresponding menu and the Press Releases Section in the web
The results from the survey are published each month on the INE website using microdata tables and files.
INEbase is the system the INE uses to store statistical information on the Internet. It contains all the information the INE produces in electronic formats. The primary organisation of the information follows the theme-based classification of the Inventory of Statistical Operations of the State General Administration . The basic unit of INEbase is the statistical operation, defined as the set of activities that lead to obtaining statistical results on a determined sector or subject based on the individually collected data. Also included in the scope of this definition are synthesis preparation.
All of the information from the survey is available on the INEbase / Services / Hotel industry and tourism as well as at the following link: https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176996&menu=ultiDatos&idp=1254735576863
On the website https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/en/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736176996&menu=resultados&secc=1254736195382&idp=1254735576863 the monthly anonymous microdata trip files can be downloaded for free. In these files categories have been added for some variables.
There is the option to request customised information from the INE User Service Department (https://www.ine.es/prodyser/informacion). Limitations for confidentiality or accuracy are taken into account when processing the said requests.
The methodology can be consulted on the INE website, as well as a transcription copy of the electronic survey. Also available for users is a guide for the handling of the micro-data files.
Link to website: https://www.ine.es/en/daco/daco42/frontur/frontur_egatur_metodologia_en.pdf
These statistical operations are not governed by European regulations or standards, meaning that no quality reports for them need to be submitted to Eurostat.
Sections 10.6 to 17 of this document are the quality report aimed at the user of these operations.
Quality assurance framework for the INE statistics is based on the ESSCoP, the European Statistics Code of Practice made by EUROSTAT. The ESSCoP is made up of 16 principles, gathered in three areas: Institutional Environment, Processes and Products. Each principle is associated with some indicators which make possible to measure it. In order to evaluate quality, EUROSTAT provides different tools: the indicators mentioned above, Self-assessment based on the DESAP model, peer review, user satisfaction surveys and other proceedings for evaluation.
The concepts used in FRONTUR and EGATUR surveys are consistent with the International Recommendations of the World Tourism Organisation from 2008, as well as with what is established in the Regulation 692/2001, in relation with European statistics for tourism, although it is not seen to be directly affected by it. Internationally recognised good practices have been implemented in the production process, like the grading of different sources of information in order to have an integrated system of statistical information in the scope of tourism. The electronic survey includes a series of controls in order to guarantee coherence and consistency in the information gathered which, subsequently, is subject to a micro- and macro-purification process. In the process for the processing of information outliers are detected and dealt with and an allocation of some of the variables is made. In the calculation of the raising factors grading techniques are applied with the aim to guarantee the coherence of the different statistical sources of information, as well as to reduce possible biases.
The Survey for Tourist Movements at Borders and Tourist Spending is the result of the inclusion and methodological updating of FRONTUR and EGATUR. In the revision process a work group was formed that carried out a diagnosis of the operations, proposing a series of improvement actions which, on the whole, have been applied to the theoretical design of this new project, such as the calibration with occupancy surveys or the incorporation of adjustments based on additional sources where the passenger file by nationality provided by the Police General Directorate is the most relevant case.
The main users are the administration organisms with tourist expertise both nationally and on an autonomous or municipal scale, as well as the statistical institutes or offices of the autonomous communities. The Bank of Spain and international organisms like Eurostat or the OMT are also notable users. In the main operators of the private sector there is also a large interest in the behaviour of the inbound tourism in our country, due to the importance in our economy.
The INE has carried out general user satisfaction surveys in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 and it plans to continue doing so every three years. The purpose of these surveys is to find out what users think about the quality of the information of the INE statistics and the extent to which their needs of information are covered. In addition, additional surveys are carried out in order to acknowledge better other fields such as dissemination of the information, quality of some publications...
On the INE website, in its section Methods and Projects / Quality and Code of Practice / INE quality management / User surveys are available surveys conducted to date.(Click next link)
The opinion of the main users has been taken into account throughout the methodological revision process of these statistical operations.
These statistical operations are not governed by any European regulations, meaning that the thoroughness cannot be measured depending on the coverage that it offers. However, they do give a response for the needs of information required by the OMT and the Bank of Spain.
On the other hand, it provides 100% of the results requested in the National Statistical Plan:
R1=100%
The application of grading techniques allows the correction, to a great extent, of the biases that can be presented when interviewing the travellers in airport and port waiting lounges or the difficulty in collecting information at the border points of roads.
It is not possible to calculate sampling and not-sampling errors due to the survey characteristics. For this reason, the direct measure of accuracy is not considered possible. The main tool to study the accuracy is analyse the reviews (see 17.2). Reviews show the proximity level between successive estimates in the same value. The size of the reviews is an accuracy indicator, so it is reasonable to assume that estimators converge to the real value when they are based on better and more reliable data.
Due to the lack of a prior framework from which the sample is chosen, the sampling errors cannot be calculated following the use of traditional techniques.
Not available
It is anticipated that the results will be published, generally, 32 days after the completion of the reference month, that is t+32.
In the case of definitive data, the revision and publication of definitive data is made in march of year t+1. In other words, January definitive data is published in t+397 and December definitive data in t+62.
Therefore:
TP1 = 32 days;
TP2 = 231 days annual average
The publication calendar is complied with. TP3=0
The same methodology is followed throughout the whole national territory. By following the International Recommendations of the World Tourism Organisation from 2008 the information is comparable with the rest of the countries that adapt to these recommendations.
In October 2015 a new series that breaks with what was published by Turespaña begins. Throughout the first twelve months a provisional link will be published for the main aggregates, which will be able to be revised once the information for the whole year is available.
Therefore: CC2=98 months
The Occupancy in Tourist Accommodation Surveys provide information about the non-residents that spend a night in regulated accommodation. The information available in these surveys has been used, making a series of adjustments, as supplementary information in the grading of the raising factors, thus improving the comparability of results.
The basic concepts and definitions are those of the International Recommendations of the World Tourism Organisation from 2008.
These operations are also consistent with the concepts and definitions of the Tourism Survey for Residents.
The estimates have complete internal coherence.
The estimate of the necessary budget appropriation included in the Annual Programme 2024, so as to finance the statistic FRONTUR is 1,525.78 thousand euros
No information is available on the burden of the people who provide the information.
The INE of Spain has a policy which regulates the basic aspects of statistical data revision, seeking to ensure process transparency and product quality. This policy is laid out in the document approved by the INE board of directors on 13 March of 2015, which is available on the INE website, in the section "Methods and projects/Quality and Code of Practice/INE’s Quality management/INE’s Revision policy" (link).
This general policy sets the criteria that the different type of revisions should follow: routine revision- it is the case of statistics whose production process includes regular revisions-; more extensive revision- when methodological or basic reference source changes take place-; and exceptional revision- for instance, when an error appears in a published statistic-.
Administrative data, which is revised, is used for these surveys. For this reaseon, there are a revision of the data.
Therefore, there will be a publication of provisional estimates that are subsequently revised.
(MAR): 12,235 tourists (average value data 2017-2018-2019-2020-2021-2022)
(RMAR): 0.24% tourists (average value data 2017-2018-2019-2020-2021-2022)
The revision is done at t+12 months for January.
These surveys have the peculiarity that they are not based on a directory or framework from which a sampling design and choice of samples can be carried out as is traditionally done.
Diverse administrative sources are used to create a universe of people that enter Spain by means of different entry points:
We must take into account the entry points used by travellers entering Spain; that is, road border points, airports with international flights, seaports and railway lines originating from foreign countries. Next, we must select the vehicles, flights, ships and trains (road, airport, port and railway, respectively) and, finally, the people travelling by these means.
For each ones of these means of transport a stratification is carried out according to the survey points, country of destination for the means of transport, day of the week… and depending on the flows of previous years, a number FRONTUR surveys have been established that are to be conducted at each survey point and each month. A sub-sample is selected from the FRONTUR sample, depending on the type of traveller and their country of residence, who shall answer the EGATUR questionnaire.
The annual theoretical sizes, by means of transport, are:
|
|
FRONTUR |
EGATUR |
|
Road |
85,142 |
29,800 |
|
Airport |
313,671 |
83,474 |
|
Port |
41,285 |
12,386 |
|
Rail |
10,720 |
1,501 |
Data is collected on a monthly basis. The surveys are distributed throughout the whole months at the different types of entry points for the means of transport.
All of the interviews are conducted in person (CAPI) assisted by an electronic device where the information being collected is recorded in real time.
The survey can be consulted on the INE website.
The electronic survey includes a series of internal validation controls in order to guarantee the coherence in the information gathered which, subsequently, is subject to a centralised micro-purification process.
Given the special characteristics of this survey, it is not feasible that the interviewee makes contact once they have left our country.
A series of processes are applied to the filtered information that allow the final information to be calculated. These processes are listed below and can be consulted in the survey methodology:
No seasonal adjustments are made.
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