Following a request from the Government, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), organized a workshop on Tourism Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) in Skopje, from 20 to 24 June 2016.  Aimed at the key institutions involved in compiling and analyzing tourism statistics, more than thirty participants attended from the Ministry of Economy, the State Statistical Office, the National Bank, the Tourism Regional Centers and the Chambers of Tourism.

The objective of the training workshop was to present UNWTO’s recommended methodological framework for the development and implementation of a national system of tourism statistics with the ultimate objective of preparing a TSA in the country. Training would be provided on key concepts and definitions, and recommendations on how to improve data collection methods, their analysis and compilation in understanding the state of tourism data and statistics in the country.  

For this purpose, the programme for the training workshop was essentially based on the introduction on tourism statistics and tourism satellite account; the processing of data on inbound and outbound tourism; the presentation on the economic statistics required for the production of accounts; and, the compilation of tourism employment and tourism investments statistics.

The Ministry of Economy, as host of this workshop, found this initiative very crucial and useful to raise the awareness of the importance of research and accurate data in the planning, promotion and management of the tourism sector.