| Assessment of tourism's contribution to the economy of a country or a region is extremely complicated because of the nature of tourism. A tourism satellite account (TSA) is a major recent contribution in this area. It involves building a specific tourism account in the context of a national account. After more than 20 years of development, the current trend in TSA research is to refine and implement the method.; This paper summarizes the methodology developments of TSA and explores the feasibility of adopting a TSA in municipal area. Thus, it discusses the TSA system from a municipal perspective. Because it is a new topic, a qualitative method is adopted by using a case study in Suzhou, China.; The paper discusses and provides a definition of TSA from varied perspectives. It also provides a technical framework for a municipal TSA, illustrates the driving forces and institutional attitudes behind the development of such a TSA, and examines the limitations and advantages of the TSA methodology in a municipal context. |
