By Dean M. Bernardo, eTN Manila.

Manila, the Philippines (21 June 2017) – UNWTO – Six heads of statistic agencies of six nations agreed to take part in crafting a global standardized form of metrics in determining and assessing data on tourism.

In the afternoon session of day one of the 6th United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) International Conference on Tourism Statistics held at Manila, the heads of statistics agencies for Oman, Kenya, Belarus, South Africa, Indonesia and Fiji affirmed the need for a framework on measuring performance in tourism.

UNWTO Regional Director for the Asia-Pacific region Xu Jing said the data generated from the statistics of every country’s tourism sector will help contribute in “capacity building.”

Xu cited the growth of the so-called Inter-Regional Tourism or IRT that has helped propel the economies of several nations dependent on tourism.

He also cited the example of countries in Southeast Asia and the Far East who have sustained their tourism economies from visitors in neighboring countries. Initial data showed that almost 40% of the growth in these countries are attributed to tourists from neighboring countries.

The three-day conference is part of a series of a year long activity by the UNWTO for 2017 as part of the “International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.”