Hallelujah: In praise of tourist statistics

Well, never say never again of course. Having once upon a time said I wouldn't refer to tourist spend statistics ever again - and having broken my vow only fairly recently - there is now good cause to mention them for a further time. Bear with me, everyone, because we may have a "hallelujah" moment. Someone has realised that these statistics are useless; not any old someone, but the national secretary of state for tourism, the Balearics very own Isabel Borrego.

In July, though it had been agreed that the Instituto de Estudios Turísticos would continue to do the legwork in gathering data that go to make up these statistics, it had also been agreed that responsibility for various tourism surveys, including Egatur, the one that gives the tourism spend statistics, would pass to the INE, the national statistics office. Which will sound all well and dull, rather than being a move that should inspire bunting being hung out, but there is a little bit more to the move than simply rearranging the statistical furniture.

Borrego now says - and here's the hallelujah moment - that there needs to be greater transparency and efficiency in the gathering of statistics and that the multitude of data sources and tourism observatories should be replaced by a better and more specialised study. The objective behind this change would be a greater understanding of tourist "motivations, experiences and incentives".

Dismantling the obfuscatory politician doublespeak and managerialist terminology, what she seems to be hinting at is that tourism statistics might actually impart some information of value in future.

The primary purpose of all this statistical gathering has been, or so it has seemed to me, to provide newspapers with lengthy and tedious copy and their readers with impenetrable percentages, comparisons and numbers, the sum of which, in terms of comprehension and accuracy, has amounted to far less than a hill of beans. It has been - still is - an exercise in bean-counting that has forgotten to take into account the beans. Stats for stats sake.

Not entirely of course, because the Bank of Spain chucks the stats up in the air and waits for them to scatter on its table known as the balance of payments measure. Which may be helpful for the economists at the bank but is entirely unhelpful for anyone else and has been a key reason why the statistics should have simply been studiously ignored for however long they have been collecting them, except by students of economics who deal in pointless generalities when it comes to Mallorca's most important industry.

What is remarkable is that it has taken however long it has for someone to come to the conclusion that these tourist stats are pointless; someone in a position of authority who can do something about them, that is. I am not in a position of authority, but with all due immodesty, I think I have touched on this pointlessness on more than one occasion over the past few years. Well, not touched on so much as trampled over with heavy boots.

There was a different hallelujah moment at the same time in July when the change to the statistical process was first being given its ministerial attention. The Spanish journalist Xavier Canalis wrote an article entitled "Are we fooling our readers with the numbers about tourists and tourist spend?". A snappy title, but yes, Xavi, you have been. What was celebratory about this article, however, was that a Spanish journalist had finally cottoned on as well.

Of course, we don't yet know what Isabel and the statistics office will come up with that is new and hopefully useful. But if I can be of help, all they need do is ask. Unlikely though it would be that they would take any notice, what they should do is remove from the tourist spend statistics that spend which isn't specific to the destination, e.g. spend on the holiday package which is gobbled up by airlines and tour operators. Spend on hotels and accommodation should be itemised separately, and clear categories of in-destination spend should then be shown, e.g. bars and restaurants, shops (with sub-categories for tobacco, booze and supermarkets), excursions and entertainment, transport. And what would be especially useful is to show this spend relative to type of accommodation (not just "hotel" but what sort of board, e.g. all-inclusive) and to resort.

It is impractical and far too expensive to ever conduct thorough surveys of spend (except perhaps as periodic and specific exercises), but if Isabel Borrego really does intend there to be more meaningful information, then she deserves praise. Hallelujah.


Any comments to andrew@thealcudiaguide.com please.