Statistics for sustainable tourism

BACOLOD CITY — A government statistician urged local leaders, tourism officers and academicians to measure the extent of sustainable tourism initiatives in their communities.

In her speech during the tourism forum at the Social Hall of the Provincial Capitol in Bacolod City Wednesday, Philippine Statistics Authority Undersecretary Lisa Bersales said the agency could only come up with national and sub-national statistics and focused on the economic impacts on tourism.

Though there are ongoing talks on providing cities and municipalities with statistics for planning, the communities should do research on sustainable tourism indicators, Bersales said.

“Tourism statistics should not only indicate its economic impact, but also the social and environmental aspects,” she said.

Sustainable tourism has three pillars: Economic, social and environmental, she said, all of which must be measured through statistics.

Bersales also said a strategic framework in measuring sustainable tourism is being drafted through the United Nations World Tourism Organization, and the country is one of the pioneer working groups of the program.

“Data is the foundation of every decision and policy-making in the creation of sustainable framework for tourism that is already starting,” she said.

Tourism is one of the drivers of the Philippine economy and its importance is rising through the years, Bersales said. (Mark L. Garcia)