Adjusting local alcohol consumption data for influence of tourists

Abstract

Globally, alcohol consumption has considerable public health, social, and economic costs. Per capita alcohol sales data are the most accurate means of quantifying consumption, but can overestimate local consumption in areas of high tourism. The goal of this research was to investigate a method for adjusting estimates of per capita alcohol consumption for tourist influence in 26 census divisions (CD) in British Columbia, Canada. Modifying estimates involved calculating temporally weighted annual tourist populations for each CD, enumerating the proportion of tourists to local populations, and using this proportion to derive local per capita consumption modified for tourist alcohol consumption. The adjustments for tourist influence decreased consumption estimates by approximately 2% provincially and between 1% and 16%, regionally. This research provides a foundational model for estimating temporally weighted regional tourist populations and applying them to adjust alcohol consumption estimates.