For at kunne vurdere dens konkurrenceevne er det nødvendigt at have god viden om turismens omfang og dens kendetegn, om turisternes profil og udgiftsmønster samt fordelene for medlemsstaternes økonomier. ###>Any appraisal of its competitiveness requires a good knowledge of the volume of tourism, its characteristics, the profile of the tourist and tourism expenditure and the benefits for the economies of the Member States.