The Ministry of Tourism has made significant headway in the establishment of a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA).

The TSA is a standard statistical framework and the main tool for the economic measurement of tourism. It provides credible data on the impact of tourism and associated employment, Saint Lucia’s balance of payments, information on tourism human resource characteristics, and is a powerful tool for designing economic policies related to tourism development.

Minister for Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries, Hon. Dominic Fedee, explained the benefits for Saint Lucia.

“The tourism satellite account will significantly improve how we capture the impact of tourism: taxes that are paid to government revenue, revenue passed in the hotel sector, average daily rates in the hotel sector, jobs in the tourism sector, linkages in the tourism sector, and the dollar value,” he said. “So with the establishment of the tourism satellite account we can give a comprehensive overview of how tourism impacts the local economy; like what the real contribution of tourism is to economic fortunes, to economic development, and the role that tourism plays in the sustainable national economic development of our country.”

The implementation of the TSA is being fueled by the recognition that it will serve to increase, and improve knowledge of tourism’s importance relative to overall economic activity, assist in the development of more efficient tourism policies and employment, and create awareness among those involved in the tourism sector, including all industries involved in the production of goods and services demanded by visitors.

“We will make a presentation to the Cabinet. The template has been fairly advanced and this is being piloted by the Department of Statistics. When completed, it will allow us to make more informed policy decisions about tourism,” minister Fedee said.

The TSA was developed by the World Tourism Organization the Organization for Economic Co-opération and Development (OECD), the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat) and the United Nations Statistics Division.