Through capacity building for national experts, ECA supports the development of a tourism economy in Sao Tome and Principe

Yaounde, 01 November 2024 (ECA) - Experts from national administrations, the private sector, civil society and universities in Sao Tome & Principe will be trained to master the tools of tourism satellite accounts.

The capacity building workshops starts in Sao Tome on November 4 and closes on November 8, 2024. As part of the government's drive to turn Sao Tome and Principe into a tourism-based economy, the ECA will be training national experts in tourism statistics tools. Three tourism satellite account manuals will be introduced to the experts. ECA aims to equip the country's experts with the skills to develop and maintain an effective tourism statistics system (TSS), facilitating the accurate measurement of tourism flows, expenditure and economic impacts, thus supporting sustainable tourism development and informed policy decisions. The primary aim of the workshop is to familiarize key stakeholders with the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) framework. However, it is further intended that the workshop will provide stakeholders with the skills and knowledge required to initiate the development of São Tomé and Príncipe's Tourism Satellite Account, and to administer it on a national scale.

The Sao Tome and Principe government's vision for the future of tourism is clear: by 2030, the goal is to attract 60,000 tourists a year, with a budget of $7,604,000 to ensure the plan's successful execution. To achieve this, the country plans to preserve natural areas, enhance the tourism experience and promote São Tomé and Príncipe as a leading tourist destination. Qualifying and consolidating the tourism offering is crucial to improving the sector's performance.

The capacity-building workshop is a recommendation from the first activity, which took place from July 9 to 10 in Sao Tome and Principe. During this dialogue on the potential of the tourism sector and the importance of quality data in Sao Tome and Principe, organized by the ECA and attended by the Minister of Economy, the UN Resident Coordinator and over 45 national experts, the urgency of transforming Sao Tome and Principe's rich tourism potential into measurable wealth in gross domestic product was underlined. The commitment of ECA's Sub-Regional Office for Central Africa to support this agenda is thus consolidated.

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: [email protected]