In a bid to bolster Tonga’s tourism sector, the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) has launched a five-day training program aimed at empowering around 20 participants from Tonga Tourism Authority, Tonga Statistics Department, Ministry of Tourism, the National Reserve Bank of Tonga, and Fiji Airways.

The comprehensive training, a collaborative effort between SPTO, Tonga Tourism Authority, and the Ministry of Tourism, focuses on best practices for collecting crucial tourism-related data. Key areas include visitor arrivals, expenditure, accommodation occupancy rates, and other relevant indicators.

SPTO’s Pacific Tourism Data Initiative (PTDI) drives the project, seeking to gather and analyze tourism data to guide decisions for sustainable tourism development. Additionally, the initiative leads the implementation and data collection for the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking Dashboard, setting standards for marketing and sustainable tourism indicators across the Pacific region.

The PTDI project spans ten Pacific Island nations, including Cook Islands, Niue, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Kiribati, Timor Leste, and FSM-Yap. It aims to support evidence-based planning and decision-making through bi-annual International Visitor Survey (IVS), annual Business Confidence Index (BCI), and annual Community Attitude Survey (CAS) reports.

Christopher Cocker, CEO of SPTO, stressed the importance of the initiative, funded by the New Zealand Government, in gathering and reporting tourism information. He highlighted the collaborative workshops as vital for knowledge exchange among participating countries, tourism stakeholders, and international partners.

Cocker emphasized, “Data is King and is the cornerstone for decision-making, developing plans and strategies. These training sessions empower local stakeholders to actively participate in tourism data collection and management processes.”

The initiative reflects a collective effort to strengthen tourism data management in the Pacific, positioning the region for informed and sustainable tourism growth. The collaboration between government bodies, industry stakeholders, and international partners signifies a commitment to advancing the tourism industry in the Pacific for the benefit of all involved.

(Source information provided by: SPTO)