IDEEA Group Appointed to Develop Sustainable Tourism Indicators

With funding support from the New Zealand government, through the Pacific Digital Tourism Transformation Project, the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) will be working alongside the IDEEA Group to strengthen tourism planning and development in the region, through a set of Sustainable Tourism Indicators for SPTO Pacific Island members.

Acknowledging the critical role of tourism in economic development in the region, the indicators will seek to support a more holistic approach to measuring and monitoring tourism development in the region. The indicators will be an extension to the current economic variables, and will also expand to comprise other imperative variables such as environmental, social, and cultural measures that will strengthen the statistical base of tourism information in the region.

The indicators will operate under the work of the Pacific Tourism Statistics Strategy (PTSS) which aims to develop and strengthen the statistical base for tourism information in support of the Pacific Sustainable Tourism Policy Framework (PSTPF) and the Digital Marketing Strategy which envisages a more resilient, prosperous and inclusive tourism.

SPTO CEO Christopher Cocker acknowledged the importance of this work, noting that measuring tourism statistics in the Pacific is very challenging due to data quality and coverage, statistical capacity gaps and resource allocations.

“Traditionally, the statistics and insights published by SPTO are limited to economic measures only. However, we recognize that we need to be more holistic in our approach to how tourism is planned, developed, promoted and monitored across the Pacific”.

“We know that statistical systems, policy priorities, financial resources and technical capabilities vary significantly in the Pacific, therefore it is envisaged that the proposed indicators will be a set of practical recommendations around sustainable tourism statistics that can be applied across all of our member countries. IDEEA Group worked with SPTO to develop the PTSS so they are very familiar with this field of work and we are pleased to be engaging with them again”, he said.

With this work underway, SPTO also acknowledges and welcomes progress made by member countries in aligning to regional frameworks and practices. For example, with support from the Asian Development Bank’s Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI), the Tourism Authority of Kiribati (TAK) is seeking the services of a Sustainability Data Specialist. It is envisaged that the Specialist will help to develop sustainability indicators to measure tourism in Kiribati, moving away from traditional visitor arrivals alone, to develop a more holistic understanding of tourism’s benefits and costs. This will also include the costs and benefits experienced by different groups within the tourism sector, including women, youth, and communities. More information on this opportunity may be accessed here.