Stakeholders in the tourism industry are invited to participate in a Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) awareness workshop being held next week.

The workshop slated to be held on August 17, will also feature the Guestpitality Certification Program. This is a system designed by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO), to refine the measurement of visitor satisfaction and identify areas of strength and weakness. The programme also responds to intense global competition that threatens tourism's sustainability in the region and enhances the Territory’s ability to deliver high visitor satisfaction.

Meanwhile, the Tourism Satellite Accounts is a standard statistical framework and the main tool for the economic measurement of tourism. This framework allows for the better coordination and records-keeping of tourism statistics from an economic (National Accounts) perspective.

The framework enables the generation of tourism economic data (such as Tourism Direct GDP) that is comparable with other economic statistics. Its data also provides a better understanding of the place of tourism in an economy and enables a range of economic analyses.

The training is organised by the Government of the Virgin Islands in collaboration with the Caribbean Overseas Small and Medium Enterprises (COSME) Programme and

the Caribbean Tourism Organisation. The session will be facilitated by officials from the CTO and will be held at the Moorings Conference Room from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Stakeholders will be educated on the benefits of Tourism Satellite Accounts, the importance of implementing a TSA developmental program, the level of assistance provided by the Caribbean Tourism Association to facilitate TSA development and the requirements of each stakeholder.

Registration is free. Interested persons may register at the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association by emailing info@bviccha.org or 494-3514.

The COSME programme specialises in the development of the small and medium enterprises in the 12 Overseas Countries and Territories, and was launched on April 1, 2014 on Tortola. The overall objective of the programme is to contribute to the sustainable and climate resilient economic diversification and prosperity of Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories by improving the competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the participating Territories.