A statistical profile of Irish domestic tourism, 2000-2005

The 2000-2005 period was a turbulent one for the tourism industry. Yet despite shocks like September 11 and the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease, domestic tourism has not only survived but also apparently thrived, with a nominal growth in trips and expenditure of 31% and 65% respectively. This paper attempts to put this increase in domestic tourism into perspective and examine some of the driving forces behind the growth, such as population, immigration, employment, income and price. The paper also highlights structural changes occurring on the supply side, such as the decline of the B&B sector and the emergence of holiday homes as an important sector. It also demonstrates the magnetic pull of the Greater Dublin Area on business tourism and highlights the differing tourism patterns associated with different age groups or whether children are involved or not. It is also argued that domestic tourism is less vulnerable to external shocks than inbound and outbound tourism and advocates that same day visits are perhaps far more important to domestic and national tourism than previously realised

Compilation and analysis of integrated regional input-output tables for NUTS 2 regions in Ireland

In 1966, Roy Geary, Director of the ESRI, noted “the absence of any kind of import and export statistics for regions is a grave lacuna” and further noted that if regional analyses were to be developed then regional Input-Output Tables must be put on the “regular statistical assembly line”. Forty-five years later, the lacuna lamented by Geary still exists and remains the most significant challenge to the construction of regional Input-Output Tables in Ireland. The continued paucity of sufficient regional data to compile effective regional Supply and Use and Input-Output Tables has retarded the capacity to construct sound regional economic models and provide a robust evidence base with which to formulate and assess regional policy. This study makes a first step towards addressing this gap by presenting the first set of fully integrated, symmetric, Supply and Use and domestic Input-Output Tables compiled for the NUTS 2 regions in Ireland: The Border, Midland and Western region and the Southern & Eastern region. These tables are general purpose in nature and are consistent fully with the official national Supply & Use and Input-Output Tables, and the regional accounts. The tables are constructed using a survey-based or bottom-up approach rather than employing modelling techniques, yielding more robust and credible tables. These tables are used to present a descriptive statistical analysis of the two administrative NUTS 2 regions in Ireland, drawing particular attention to the underlying structural differences of regional trade balances and composition of Gross Value Added in those regions. By deriving regional employment multipliers, Domestic Demand Employment matrices are constructed to quantify and illustrate the supply chain impact on employment. In the final part of the study, the predictive capability of the Input-Output framework is tested over two time periods. For both periods, the static Leontief production function assumptions are relaxed to allow for labour productivity. Comparative results from this experiment are presented

Opportunism over strategy: a history of regional policy and spatial planning in Ireland

Since the 1950s regional policy and spatial planning in Ireland has been largely reactive and opportunistic in nature rather than strategically or ideologically driven. As a result, inconsistent approaches to regional and spatial issues have arisen, driven mainly by short-term goals or issues of the day rather than adherence to a clear, long-term strategic objective. Thus, Government interest in regional and spatial issues has ebbed and flowed in reaction to the events and economic climate of the day; during the 1950s interest surged in reaction to rural decay, emigration and economic failure, waned with entry in to the European Economic Community in 1973 and the prolonged recession of the 1980s and re-emerged in response to growing congestion problems arising from the ‘Celtic Tiger’ at the turn of the century and led to the publication of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) in 2002. This history is outlined and brought up to date, to incorporate recent developments, such as the publication of the government strategy document ‘Putting People First’. It is hoped that this may provide context to facilitate forthcoming deliberations around the recently announced ‘replacement’ NSS for Ireland

The Big (data) Bang: Opportunities and challenges for compiling SDG indicators

Official statisticians around the world are faced with the herculean task of populating the Sustainable Development Goals global indicator framework. As traditional data sources appear to be insufficient, statisticians are naturally considering whether big data can contribute anything useful. While the statistical possibilities appear to be theoretically endless, in practice big data also present some enormous challenges and potential pitfalls: legal; ethical; technical; and reputational. This paper examines the opportunities and challenges presented by big data for compiling indicators to support Agenda 2030

How many family businesses are there really and does ICT and innovation improve their performance?

Depending on the source, a reader may be left with the impression that Family Businesses (FBs) typically account for between 75% and 95% of all enterprises operating in an economy. This study, using official structural business statistics from Ireland, suggests that in fact family businesses may account for a considerably smaller share of the business economy, something closer to 46%. This paper attempts to explain how such a discrepancy can arise. Using the Annual Services Inquiry compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) as the anchor dataset, micro data are linked to the e-Commerce and ICT survey, Community Innovation Survey and VAT registrations datasets in order to determine whether labour productivity in Family Businesses (FBs) is significantly different to that of Non-Family Businesses (NFBs) and if Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) or innovation has an impact. The paper also highlights the significant impact that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) makes to the Irish economy. This analysis is particularly relevant for a small open economy like Ireland where 31% of traded services GVA and 15% of employment is generated by multinational enterprises

"You say you want a [data] revolution": A proposal to use unofficial statistics for the SDG Global Indicator Framework

This paper argues that the Global Indicator Framework required to support the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals will not be successfully populated, using only existing approaches and mechanisms. Official statistical systems must adapt and consider new approaches if only partial success is to be averted. This paper presents a proposal to accredit unofficial statistics as official for the purposes of compiling sustainable development goal indicators. While there may be some reluctance, and there are certainly risks with this proposal, the arguments put forward highlight the potential for collaboration

Extending supply side statistics for the tourism sector: a new approach based on linked-administrative data

This paper presents a new approach to measuring and understanding the activities of the tourism industries in Ireland. Using structural business statistics and administrative registers a new set of static and dynamic supplyside indicators are developed at both national and sub-national level. These indicators not only complement and expand the suite of tourism indicators already available but also offer a practical approach to filling a gap in the UNWTO – 2008 International Recommendations on Tourism Statistics

Family businesses in the Irish services sector: profile and productivity

Most family businesses are small, engage less than 10 persons and trade in the more traditional industries, such as the distributive trades or hospitality industries. Family businesses export less product, generate a lower proportion of their turnover from Internet sales and typically have a lower Gross Value Added (GVA) per employee than non-family businesses. Nevertheless, these family businesses make a significant contribution to the services sector, accounting for more than 46% of all non-financial traded services enterprises. They are almost exclusively Irish owned, employ over a quarter of a million persons and account for 40% of all persons engaged. In 2005, family businesses in the services sectors generated an aggregate turnover in excess of ?49 billion. Yet according to international studies these family businesses have in or around a 60% probability of failure as they transfer from first to second generation ownership, potentially putting thousands of jobs at risk