Tourism GVA for CIoS

Introduction

Obtaining a figure for the contribution that the tourism sector makes to the Cornish economy is problematical.  Sources close to the sector itself tend to over-estimate its share citing figures ranging from 20% to 33%. 

 

Data produced by the Office for National Statistics estimated the share of output at 11% in 2008, while in 2013 the figure was 9.9% (TDGVA £990 million).

 

Tourism is not one of the sectors used by the Office for National Statistics in its outputs, therefore the share of specific sectors which can be attributed to tourism has to be calculated using a defined methodology. For example, tourism can make a significant contribution to the Accommodation and Food services sectors.  Other sectors with a higher than average tourism element include transport and the cultural and sporting areas.

 

Tourism is often regarded as an important element of the Cornish economy.  To assist in providing material on the subject an analysis of data was carried out to create some estimates.

 

Calculating tourism GVA - methodology

Tourism ratios are used to calculate the share of output in a sector that can be attributed to tourism.  However, using Tourism ratios which are created at a UK level underestimates the share of tourism in relevant sectors in the Cornish economy. As an alternative using the limited available data for approximate Gross Value Added (aGVA) and Gross Value Added (GVA) for 2017and also selected 2016 data, tourism ratios were calculated. 

 

These ratios were applied to the relevant sectors for the period 2001 to 2024. Output multipliers derived from Scottish SUIT data were then applied to the sector output figures. 

 

It should be noted that these results are experimental, nonetheless the figures are indicative of the role of tourism in the Cornish economy.

 

Results

The analysis suggests that the tourism sector contributes on average 14.3% of output in terms of gross value added GVA). This is well below the figures cited by those in the sector and the media. 

 

Issues

The estimates produced are slightly higher than those from the ONS reports.  Such differences are not surprising due to the different methodologies used to create the data and the imprecise nature of calculating figures.

 

Data

 

Year	Tourism	% Of total	Tot tourism	% Of total
2001	468	10.5	645	14.4
2002	498	10.3	685	14.2
2003	548	10.5	752	14.4
2004	560	10.3	769	14.1
2005	581	10.1	796	13.8
2006	616	10.0	843	13.7
2007	647	10.2	885	14.0
2008	674	10.2	924	14.0
2009	653	10.2	895	13.9
2010	683	10.5	938	14.4
2011	719	10.6	991	14.6
2012	716	10.3	988	14.2
2013	731	10.1	1009	13.9
2014	763	10.2	1052	14.0
2015	815	10.4	1125	14.4
2016	871	10.6	1199	14.6
2017	990	11.1	1361	15.3
2018	1043	11.5	1434	15.8
2019	1059	11.4	1456	15.6
2020	767	8.7	1036	11.7
2021	1103	10.5	1495	14.2
2022	1212	11.0	1645	14.9
2023	1229	10.5	1678	14.3
2024	1266	10.4	1730	14.3

 

Definitions

TDGVA stands for Tourism Direct Gross Value Added

Tourism direct gross value added (TDGVA): It is the part of gross value added generated by tourism industries and other industries of the economy that directly serve visitors in response to internal tourism consumption.  [United Nations Statistical Division].

 

Tourism ratios

Tourism ratios are internal tourism consumption divided by domestic supply and represent how much of the supply of products are consumed directly by tourists.  [ONS, UK Tourism Satellite Account 2023 (UK-TSA].

 

 

Products related to tourism

Accommodation services for visitors

Food and beverage serving activities

Railway passenger transport services

Road passenger transport services

Water passenger transport services

Air passenger transport services

Transport equipment rental services

Travel agencies & other reservation services

Cultural activities

Sport and recreation activities

Exhibitions & Conferences etc.

Other consumption products [Note 2]

 

Tourist statements

“Tourism is worth between £1.7bn and £2bn a year to Cornwall, around 20% of the county’s annual GDP, Mr Conchie [CEO of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce] said, while an estimated 53,000 people are employed by the industry.” (Sky News, August 2018).

 

“Tourism is 25%-28% of gross value added of Cornwall, and the visitor economy could be as much as £2.4 billion over the year.” (Kim Conchie, Penarth Times, March 2020).

 

“Tourism is worth nearly £2 billion to the local economy – 23% of GDP” (Daily Mirror, March 2021).

 

“... a lot of people don’t appreciate just how important tourism is. It is 33% of our GDP“. (Cornwall Live, August 2021).

“Tourism … is about a third of our GDP” (Kim Conchie, Daily Express, September 2021).

 

[Cornwall a Developers Paradise, 2021].

 

Cornwall a Developers Paradise, (16 September 2021), The financial impact of tourism in Cornwall: an assessment.

 

Office for National Statistics, (May 2011), The Sub-Regional Value of Tourism in the UK in 2008.

 

Office for National Statistics, (May 2016), The Regional Value of Tourism in the UK: 2013

 

Office for National Statistics, (23 September 2026), Regional economic activity by gross domestic product, UK: 1998 to 2024.  Table 1: Gross value added (Balanced) at current basic prices, pounds million.

 

Scottish Government/Riaghaltus na h-Alba, (December 2025), Supply, Use and Input-Output Tables: 1998-2022.  https://www.gov.scot/publications/input-output-latest/