NBS commits to TSA for tourism stats, cultivates sectoral partnerships

…. Over 1000 hotels operate in Nigeria
….To ensure a more robust and realistic aggregation of tourism statistics in Nigeria, the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has committed to use of the Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) framework.

Recommended by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the TSA framework, adopted in 2015 by the NBS, links all tourism and travel statistics in Nigeria with the national accounts framework before national GDP is calculated.

Disclosing this on Tuesday, in Lagos, at an interactive session with members of the Association of Travel & Tourism Writers of Nigeria (ATTWON), the Statistician-General of the Federation and CEO, NBS, Dr. Yemi Kale, said that until recently “tourism data has been disaggregated and oftentimes fragmented.”

ATTWON is a collective of writers, bloggers, photojournalists, PR and Advertising Executives who communicate the travel and tourism industry in Nigeria who are committed to professionalism in the trade. It was founded in 2015.

“We have begun to build the structure to compile the Tourism Satellite Accounts,” Dr. Kale said,

The NBS, according to him, had already established collaboration with such stakeholders as the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to build a system of tourism statistics that feeds into the TSA.

He added that a broader platform will soon be established to function as a forum where other stakeholders can also put forward their contributions towards the development of a robust TSA.

The TSA developed by UNWTO in 2008, adopts the basic system of concepts, classifications, definitions, tables and aggregates of the System of National Accounts 2008 (SNA 2008), the international standard for a systematic summary
of national economic activity, from a functional perspective.

It allows for the harmonization and reconciliation of tourism statistics from an economic (National Accounts) perspective. This enables the generation of tourism economic data (such as Tourism Direct GDP) that is comparable with other economic statistics. Exactly how the TSA does this relates to the SNA logic of contrasting data from the demand-side (the acquisition of goods and services by visitors while on a tourism trip) with data from the supply-side of the economy (the value of goods and services produced by industries in response to visitor expenditure).

Seen as a set of 10 summary tables, each with their underlying data, the TSA includes inbound, domestic tourism and outbound tourism expenditure; internal tourism expenditure; production accounts of tourism industries; the Gross Value Added (GVA) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) attributable to tourism; employment; investment; government consumption; and non-monetary indicators.

The Statistician-General was addressing a cross-section of stakeholders which included the DG, NTDC who was represented by Mrs. Annette Ibe, Zonal Coordinator, NTDC, Mrs. Lola Adewole of NANTA, Otunba Ayo Olumoko, Vice-President, FTAN South-West and Mrs. Ngozi Ngoka, Vice-President, FTAN South East at the interactive session tagged: Kale Talks Tourism – The Nexus Between Travel and the Stats.

The interactive session also marked the opening of the ATTWON Creative Hub in Lagos.
Dr. Kale, who was represented by Mrs. Lola Talabi-Oni, Technical Adviser to the Statistician-General, National Bureau of Statistics, noted that developing tourism had various far-reaching benefits ranging from job creation to increased revenue through taxes and foreign exchange to improved local infrastructure.
He said that it directly impacts the transportation, accommodation & food services, and the arts and entertainment sectors.

Emphasising the importance of appreciating the NBS approach to tourism data to be able to have robust conversations on the figures, Dr. Kale said that the contribution of tourism to GDP using the Supply and Use Table of Nigeria is a measurement of Tourism Value Added. Though limited in scope being dated 2010 to 2012, the Supply and Use Table is still a useful way to evaluate the growth and trends of the tourism sector.

The contribution of tourism to GDP declined from 2.34% in 2010 to 1.77% in 2011 to 1.22% in 2012.
Although transportation constitutes the highest contribution of tourism to GDP, it declined from 70% in 2010 to just over 50% in 2012.

On the converse, hotels and accommodation, which contributed 20% to the tourism economy in 2010 grew to 45% in 2012.

He noted that though there were over 1000 hotels in Nigeria, very few were predominantly used by inbound tourists.
He revealed the NBS was “in the process of designing a template, in collaboration with other supervisory agencies and associations to further capture the composition and main growth drivers within this sub-sector.”

The rise of shared private accommodation for tourism purposes posed a challenge in monitoring necessitating “the possibility of incorporating this type of service within the Household Establishment Surveys that are conducted every quarter.”

Explaining further, Dr. Kale said that soon it will be possible to collect and disseminate indicators on occupancy rates, room capacity, bed capacity, total foreign guest nights and average room rates across the country.

The NBS is already publishing quarterly reports on international and domestic air passenger traffic.
Providing an attractive outlook for Nigerian tourism, the CEO, NBS, said that the Nigerian tourism sector was resilient and had the tendency for continuous growth.

“We have a large domestic market to feed into the demand side of tourism, and increasing globalisation and decreasing international air flight costs, have translated into an expanding foreign market and interest in Nigeria. It is projected that the Lagos airport will receive over 10,000 passengers per day by 2031.

“For the supply side, we are endowed with various existing and potential areas of tourist attractions and destinations all across Nigeria.”

He listed some of these sites to include the Gurara Falls in Niger State, the Calabar Drill Monkey Ranch and the Igbo-Ukwu Museum as some of the tourism assets which generate significant domestic and international interest.

He said to grow the Tourism sub-sector there was need to build the right infrastructure, address the security and safety concerns of visitors, and harness the strength of local tourism affiliated departments and agencies in order to realise the full potential of tourism on our economy.

In the meantime, the NBS was building partnerships, developing internal capacity for the completion of the Tourism Satellite Accounts and improving the quantity, quality and accessibility of tourism statistics, Dr. Kale concluded.
In her remarks, the President, ATTWON, Ms. Omolola Itayemi, commended the NBS for the new partnership between the Association and the agency in the reportage of the industry.

She pledged the Association’s commitment to professionalism by its members.