Tourism’s contribution to economy not measured: Official

PAPUA New Guinea’s tourism industry has not been explicitly measured in the official economic statistics to identify its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) compared with other economic sectors, an official says.
PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (PNGTPA) chief executive officer Eric Mossman Uvovo said this while welcoming the tourism satellite account technical working group made up of members from the PNGTPA, National Statistical Office (NSO), Bank of PNG and the Internal Revenue Commission who met last Tuesday to discuss the importance of developing a tourism satellite account for the country.
Uvovo said even though the country’s tourism industry was small, tourism would play a significant and increasing role in the country’s economy.
He said unlike industries such as agriculture, mining, fisheries and forestry, tourism had not been explicitly measured in the official economic statistics to identify tourism’s contribution to the GDP and compared with other economic sectors.
“Therefore, the development of satellite account is vital for PNG, so that reliable data on the impact of tourism on the economy and employment can be measured effectively going forward,” he said.
Tourism satellite account is the standard United Nations, approved method of measuring the direct contribution of tourism consumption to a national economy and TPA will lead the technical working group to implement this project next year. TPA is a member of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
NSO will play the leading role in producing the satellite account for the country, while the satellite account technical working group will meet on a monthly basis to coordinate and monitor the progress and provide support during the implementation process.