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New Zealand is one of a number of countries to have developed a TSA. While methodologies and approaches used in countries that have released TSAs have much in common, there are a number of conceptual differences, particularly as to what is covered by the term 'tourism expenditure'. Of those reviewed by Statistics New Zealand, the following treatments are noted:
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics includes all travellers undertaking short-term study courses in their TSA. If a student stays longer than one year, their usual environment is taken to include the school or university and the place where they live. Consequently, they are not classified as a visitor and are excluded from the TSA.
- Singapore adopted the residency criterion used in the balance of payments; namely, foreign students are not classified as residents of the host economy, regardless of the length of stay. As a result, expenditure of all international students is included in their TSA. This treatment will be reviewed to determine whether tourism expenditure should include only that of foreign students whose stay is less than one year.
- Expenditure by all international students is excluded from the Canadian TSA. This exclusion comes from the interpretation of school/university being the usual environment in the host country regardless of the length of stay of the student.
- The United States Bureau of Economic Analysis does not include expenditure by international students in its travel and tourism satellite account. The rationale is that international students are not considered visitors because their usual environment is their place of study in the host nation.
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