MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tourism Satellite Account a first for the Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands Tourist Board this week launched the nation’s first ‘Tourism Satellite Account’ (TSA), a United Nations endorsed international standard for measuring the true economic impact of tourism.

The findings are the result of extensive work by the tourist board in conjunction with Acorn Consulting Partnership (UK), which has enabled an enlightening account of this important sector of the economy to be produced.

The TSA reveals that tourists spent £6.6 million in the Falkland Islands in the 2008-9 season, 43% of which was spent by cruise passengers, with a further 43% spent by air passengers and 14% by domestic tourists.

The spend of £6.6 million represents 5% of the Falkland Islands’ GDP, which is a significant value in comparison with many other countries. In the UK tourism contributes 3.4% of GDP, while in Chile the contribution is 3.8%, and 2.5% in the United States.

“Quantifying the tourism industry’s true contribution to the larger Falklands economy has always been difficult,” said Jake Downing, General Manager of the Falkland Islands Tourist Board.

“Tourism touches all parts of the economy, and creates income and employment in all sectors: accommodation, transport, food and beverage, retail and other services. The TSA makes measurement and tracking of all this a reality.”

The Falkland Islands is one of a number of countries to have developed a TSA, which reflects the Government’s commitment to tourism. It provides a tool for both the tourism industry and government to measure growth and properly plan for the future, and it will have policy implications for employment, education, infrastructure and transport.

“The launch of the TSA is an important landmark for us”, said Mr Downing. “It is thanks to the hard work of Acorn Consulting and the support of the industry here that we now have some exciting statistics which will help us plan for the future.”

By Lisa Watson - SeAled PR - Stanley