ETHIOPIA – The Ethiopian government has launched its first-ever Tourism Satellite Account (ETH-TSA), a statistical measuring framework to track the economic impact of tourism in the country.
The measuring tool provides empirical data for evidence-based policy formulation, decision-making and strategic planning.
According to the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), the ETH-TSA framework addresses a significant gap in the country’s tourism and hospitality sector analysis.
The country’s tourism sector lacked a robust statistical framework and only relied on week statistical sources like hotel surveys and tourist arrivals, which limited the country’s ability to capitalize on the economic benefits of the sector.
The measuring framework will analyze, in detail, the different aspects of demand and supply in the tourism and hospitality sector associated with the activity of guests and customers.
It will analyze market forces and economic conditions like availability of supporting resources, purchasing power, government policy, the operating sector and infrastructure to provide valuable insights in the sector.
Through this analysis, the framework is expected to provide valuable insights into tourism’s and hospitality’s contribution to GDP, job creation, investments, and its impact on the balance of payments, as well as government revenue from tourism activities.
The ETH-TSA was jointly developed by the UN Tourism Statistics Department, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other partners. According to the Ethiopian government, it took 18 months to develop the framework fully.
Nasisie Chali, Ethiopia’s Tourism Minister hailed the framework’s launch as a historic milestone for the country. The minister emphasized the framework’s importance in capturing valuable, comprehensive data about the tourism and hospitality sector.
Nasisie Chali said, “This official launch of Ethiopia’s first-ever tourism satellite account is a scientific tool, designed to capture data on national tourism. Today marks a significant turning point on how we understand, measure and manage our nation’s key economic sector which is tourism.“
The ETH-TSA system is part of a wider initiative by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and various domestic institutions across East Africa.
Ethiopia joins a select crop of African countries, including Uganda and Kenya, in implementing a robust statistical system.
UNECA Representative Geoffrey Manyara commended Ethiopia’s commitment to data-driven tourism development, noting that the country’s preparedness for the TSA began in February last year.
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