Surplus

Tourism surplus is a positive balance between the monetary value of a country’s tourism export revenue and import expenditures over a certain period. A negative balance is a deficit. The surplus is a major factor contributing to the currency of a country’s tourism industry. The concept is closely associated with inbound/outbound tourism and the tourist trade with influencing factors such as interest rate, exchange rate, tariff barriers, as well as multilateral, bilateral, and unilateral taxes or restrictions (Çelik et al. 2013).

The measurement of surplus may vary by the definition and measurement of the tourist trade. Generally, tourism trade surplus is measured by subtracting imports (travel abroad by a country’s residents plus international airfares and/or passenger water transport) from exports (nonresident tourism demand). If the balance is positive, surplus occurs. To measure import and export of tourist services, the Tourism Satellite Account is a commonly used methodology...