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| DOT-8 is enhancing the capacity of local tourism officers to gather and submit basic tourism statistics to better understand tourism trends and patterns in the region. Photo: DOT-8 |
TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Tourism in Eastern Visayas (DOT-8) said Friday that it is stepping up efforts to provide local tourism officers with the skills and knowledge needed to collect and submit basic tourism statistics.
DOT-8 identified one of the challenges it faces in obtaining a clear picture of tourism arrivals in the region as gathering tourism statistics. Tourist arrivals, day and night tourists, receipts, and specific sites visited are all included in these figures.
The Regional Director of DOT-8, Karina Rosa Tiopes, told Philippine News Agency (PNA) that tourism arrivals increased in 2022 compared to 2021. Tiopes explained that statistics from local tourism offices are still being processed. One of the difficulties they face is the variety of submission methods, with some offices submitting figures in PDF copies that necessitate encoding and analysis.
This week, the DOT held the first level of standard local tourism statistics system capacity building, bringing together tourism officers from various provinces and cities. Participants included Leyte, Biliran, and Eastern Samar provincial tourism officers and Maasin, Tacloban, Baybay, and Calbayog city tourism officers. Municipal tourism officers from Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Samar, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar were also present.
Tiopes emphasized the importance of statistics in the tourism industry, stating that they aid in understanding trends and patterns in each data set. It also helps with data analysis, drawing conclusions, forecasting future events and behaviors, developing marketing strategies for local government units, and measuring the effectiveness of policies.
The Department of Transportation anticipates a significant increase in tourist arrivals in 2022 and this year. This anticipated increase is largely due to more relaxed travel restrictions following the pandemic. –iTacloban (Source: PNA)