Sao Tome, 5 June 2026 - Tourism is widely recognized as one of Sao Tome and Principe's most promising pathways to economic diversification. Yet realizing its full potential requires more than attractive destinations and growing visitor numbers. It requires a clear understanding of the sector's real contribution to the economy.

How much wealth does tourism generate? How many jobs does it support? Which investments does it attract? And where are the greatest opportunities for future growth?

Without reliable answers to these questions, it becomes difficult to design effective policies, target investments and fully harness tourism as a driver of development.

It is against this backdrop that the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with the Government of Sao Tome and Principe and the United Nations Resident Coordination Office, is organizing a capacity-building workshop from 8 to 11 June 2026 on the processing and analysis of data collected through the national survey of tourism establishments.

The workshop represents an important step in helping national institutions transform raw data into reliable evidence that can support policymaking, investment planning and long-term sector development.

Over four days, participants will work directly with data collected from tourism establishments, strengthening their practical skills in data processing, statistical analysis and interpretation. The objective is not only to improve technical capacities, but also to ensure that tourism data can be translated into meaningful insights capable of guiding decisions and shaping future development priorities.

The initiative also contributes to the completion of Sao Tome and Principe's Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA), the internationally recognized framework used to measure tourism's contribution to economic activity, employment, investment and value creation. Once operational, the TSA will provide policymakers with a clearer picture of the sector's economic footprint and its role in supporting national development.

More broadly, the workshop forms part of a long-term effort to strengthen the country's capacity to produce, analyze and use tourism economic data. The ambition is to build a sustainable national system capable of generating regular, internationally comparable data and supporting evidence-based decision-making over time.

This work builds on ECA's continued support to the Government of Sao Tome and Principe in modernizing its tourism information system. Following assistance in designing the survey methodology and conducting data collection, ECA is now supporting the development of national expertise to analyse, interpret and make effective use of the information generated.

"You cannot transform what you cannot measure. Understanding the real contribution of tourism to growth, jobs and investment is essential for designing effective policies and unlocking new opportunities for economic diversification. Better data lead to better decisions, and better decisions lay the foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth," said Jean Luc Mastaki, Director of ECA's Subregional Office for Central Africa.

Reliable statistics are more than a technical asset. They help identify investment opportunities, assess sector performance, improve public policy effectiveness and strengthen investor confidence.

For Sao Tome and Principe, the stakes extend far beyond statistical production. The ability to measure tourism more accurately is also the ability to better promote its strengths, attract new investments and position the sector as a key pillar of economic diversification and sustainable growth.

"Tourism is far more than a source of revenue. When properly measured and understood, it becomes a powerful catalyst for job creation, investment attraction and structural transformation. Our objective is to help Sao Tome and Principe build the statistical foundations needed to make informed decisions today and unlock new opportunities for tomorrow," concluded Jean Luc Mastaki.

[Portuguese version]

Media Contact

Zacharie Roger MBARGA
Communication Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Yaounde, Cameroon
Email: [email protected]

Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: [email protected]

Source: UNECA