Recognizing the need for the Pacific to share experiences around Statistical Literacy, the Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO), along with other regional organisations, and key stakeholders, participated in the Stats Café webinar, organised by the Pacific Community (SPC) in collaboration with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.

SPTO’s Manager Research and Statistics Deepak Chand mentioned that the webinar, held earlier this month, allowed National Statistics Offices (NSO) from the Pacific to share their experiences around Statistical Literacy, covering any initiatives, best practices (that fit in the country’s contexts), challenges, opportunities, and ways forward.

“Statistics are important because they help people make informed decisions. Governments, organizations, and businesses all collect statistics to help them track progress, measure performance, analyse problems, and prioritize. It was a very informative webinar, although a first, and I am hopeful we will have more in the future to be able to exchange ideas and share knowledge, best practices, and the challenges we face. There were presenters from Fiji, Australia, Kiribati, and Papua New Guinea,” Mr Chand said. 

SPTO CEO Christopher Cocker noted the importance of SPTO’s involvement in such initiatives, adding that innovative and inclusive approaches toward Statistical Literacy are critically crucial for sectors such as tourism.

 “By participating in this Webinar, SPTO can offer lessons learned and also connect with like-minded partners to pursue the goals of SPTO’s Pacific Tourism Statistics Strategy 2021-2024,” Mr Cocker said.

This Stats Café is organized in collaboration with UN-ESCAP to encourage NSOs from the Pacific to share their experiences around Statistical Literacy. The session’s outcomes will help SPC devise a better collaboration strategy with NSOs to design and implement a capacity-building framework and pave the way toward regional workshops in the future.