Overview of the Romanian and Spanish Approaches on the Tourism Economic Impact Measurement Methods

Abstract

The tourism activities have a real impact on the social and economic development, as it has great contributions to the GDP formation and the role it employs on the labor market. The economic branch of tourism has been and still is playing an important role in the economy as a whole, at macro level. The degree of importance has grown or diminished over the years, yet it certainly proved itself to be a notable factor of economic growth, no matter the level. Also, the tourism sector maintains codependent relationships with other sectors, mutually sustaining themselves, like transportation or lodging. The tourism sector as a whole is greatly characterized by a strong presence of and dependence on the labor force. It creates new work places, this way attracting the work force surplus from other sectors, which consequently has a good impact on reducing the unemployment rate. The high number of the people employed in the tourism domain could be mainly explained by the scarce possibilities of mechanization and automatisation of the tourism activities and operations. Also, one shouldn’t forget the indirect effect that the increasing number of employed people has on other sectors. Studies in this field reveal that one work place in tourism can create up to three other work places in the economic frame. That is precisely why tourism, being as it is a great consumer of goods and services, has a beneficial influence on the number of employees in its “supplying” economic branches: agriculture, Food and Beverage, constructions, etc The tourism impact measurement methods are every time more efficient and more accurate. Yet, because these measurement methods differ from one country to another, it is extremely difficult to conclude analyzes between tourism destinations worldwide, in terms of tourism economic impact.