Tourism represents one of the key pillars of São Tomé and Príncipe’s economic diversification strategy, contributing significantly to foreign exchange earnings, job creation, and local development. Yet, the sector’s real contribution to the national economy remains underestimated, owing to limited statistical integration and fragmented data collection systems.
To address this gap, the Government of São Tomé and Príncipe, in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator (RCO), initiated the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) development project—a comprehensive framework designed to quantify and mainstream the economic impact of tourism into the national accounts system.
After a first phase launched in 2024, three technical workshops under Phase II were held throughout 2025, focusing respectively on demand-side tables (June), supply-side and extension tables (July), and data consolidation and report preparation (September). These workshops have laid the technical foundations for the country’s first-ever Tourism Satellite Account, developed in line with UNWTO international standards.
The Validation Workshop (29 October 2025) marks a pivotal moment in this process. It aims to review and validate the draft TSA analytical report, assess the methodology and data quality, and ensure national ownership of the findings. By engaging technical experts from public institutions, academia, and the private sector, this workshop seeks to refine the TSA and consolidate it as a credible, evidence-based policy tool for sustainable tourism planning.
Building on the technical validation, the High-Level Policy Dialogue (30 October 2025) constitutes a crucial policy milestone in the second phase of the project. The dialogue will bring together senior policymakers, development partners, and the private sector to translate the TSA’s technical results into policy commitments. It will serve as a platform to:
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Secure political endorsement of the TSA report and roadmap;
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Foster multi-sectoral coordination among ministries and stakeholders;
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Promote the institutionalization of tourism statistics through the operationalization of the Tourism Statistics Steering Committee (TSSC); and
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Mobilize financial and technical partnerships to integrate TSA findings into São Tomé and Príncipe’s national planning framework.
The Dialogue is expected to result in the endorsement of the TSA roadmap, renewed institutional commitment to data-driven tourism governance, and the alignment of tourism policy with national development priorities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Together, the validation workshop and the policy dialogue mark a decisive step toward institutionalizing tourism data and embedding evidence-based policymaking in São Tomé and Príncipe’s journey toward sustainable and inclusive growth.