Port Vila Spearheads Revolutionary Workshop With Pacific Tourism Organisation And Vanuatu Tourism Office

Monday, July 8, 2024

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), alongside the Vanuatu Tourism Office (VTO), hosted a significant capacity-building workshop in Port Vila from July 1 to July 5. This event, part of the ongoing SPTO in-country visits, centered around the Pacific Tourism Data Initiative and the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking Dashboard, both integral components of the Pacific Digital Transformation Project.

Vanuatu, along with other nations such as Niue, the Cook Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Kiribati, Timor Leste, and FSM-Yap, is involved in the PTDI project. This initiative seeks to gather and analyze tourism data critical for setting benchmarks in marketing and sustainable tourism across the Pacific.

The sessions took place at the Grand Hotel in Port Vila, drawing fifteen delegates from various Vanuatuan agencies including the Tourism Office, Department of Tourism, Bureau of Statistics, Department of Immigration, and the Ministry of Trade and Commerce. The main objective was to enhance the capabilities in digital data management and analytics within the tourism industry, aiming to equip participants with skills to drive meaningful research outcomes for Vanuatu.

Warren Gama, the Business Intelligence Manager at the Vanuatu Tourism Office, underscored the urgency of proactive and high-quality research and data analysis to provide vital insights to both the government and stakeholders regarding the tourism sector’s economic and socio-cultural impacts.

Mr. Gama also stressed the importance of recognizing local communities’ readiness to participate in tourism activities, highlighting its economic benefits, cultural preservation, and contribution to environmental conservation.

Christine Tasale, a Data Processing Officer at the Vanuatu Department of Immigration, expressed her anticipation to refine her data analytical skills, which she believes will enhance her understanding of consumer behaviors, preferences, and trends through advanced statistical tools.

Issachar Aru, Chairperson of the SPTO Board and CEO of the Vanuatu Tourism Office, praised the organization’s efforts towards promoting sustainable tourism in the region.

“As the CEO of the Vanuatu Tourism Office and Chair of the SPTO Board of Directors, I hope to lift the profile and work of Vanuatu and our tourism experiences through a stronger set of digital sets of data and insights through a dashboard that will assist our officials and stakeholders to better measure the benefits of tourism and its impact to the greater socio-economy of Vanuatu. Collaboration and forging robust partnerships are crucial to the success of Vanuatu and regional tourism,” Ms. Aru said.

SPTO’s CEO, Christopher Cocker, reaffirmed the organization’s dedication to building the capacity of Research Officers in employing advanced statistical tools like Survey Monkey, SPSS, and NVIVO, supported by funding from the New Zealand government.

“Implementing the Digital Measurement and Benchmarking Dashboard and the Pacific Tourism Statistics Strategy are activities under SPTO’s Research and Statistics division. The workshop is important in achieving these activities as it drives insightful research outcomes within the Vanuatu tourism sector. Therefore, data collaboration is equally important in successfully executing this activity,” Mr. Cocker said.

The PTDI project underlines the importance of evidence-based planning and decision-making in tourism, with key outputs including a bi-annual International Visitor Survey, an annual Business Confidence Index, and a Community Attitude Survey. These tools provide essential insights into the perceptions and attitudes of communities towards tourism.

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