Minutes of the 3Rd Tourism Satellite Account (Tsa) Meeting

MINUTES OF THE 4th TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNT (TSA) MEETING

August 5th, 2011

ATTENDANCE

ABSENCE

Apologies for absence were received from Dr. Denny Lewis-Bynoe (Caribbean Development Bank). Ms. Carol Coy (Jamaica Statistical Institute) and Ms. Antoinette Lyn (Jamaica Tourist Board)

Note

Members without audio contributed to the meeting by typing their questions or suggestions.

AGENDA

1. Call to order
2. Review of the Minutes of the 3rd TSA meeting held on June 30th, 2011.
3. Requirements for the first disbursement of funds from the IDB
4. Discussion of the required Annual Operational Plan for the project
5. Update on the selection of the representative from the National Inter-Institutional Committee.
6. Recommendation of Consultants
7. Other Business
8. Adjournment

1. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Mr. Griffith (Chair person) at 11:30AM after some technical difficulties were sorted out.

The meeting was conducted in its usual open forum.

Mr. Griffith highlighted that the deadline given by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) submission of evidence satisfying the conditions prior to the first disbursement of funds was September 4, 2011. He indicated that the members must accelerate with providing the necessary information to CTO.

It was revealed that according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) stipulations, the Programme Coordinator should be recruited from the Executing Agency. The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) is the bearer of the title Executing Agency, and Mr. Winfield Griffith was appointed the Programme Coordinator for the Regional Tourism Satellite Account project.

There was some discussion about the implementation of the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA). Mr. Dave Clement from the Central Statistical Office of Trinidad and Tobago asked if the project will be taking a regional approach to data collection and if this was the case what operational guidelines/ manuals would be provided by the CTO?

In reply to this query Mr. Griffith stated that regional harmonization is the goal of this project and the development of documentation for application to the wider region is critical

Another contribution was made by Ms. Kelsie Dorsett from the Department of Statistics in the Bahamas, she highlighted that the Bahamas and Jamaicahas established a developed TSA system. The reality is that each country will have differing needs as they were all at different levels with the Tourism Satellite Account.

1. Review of the Minutes for the 3rd TSA Meeting.

There were no objections to the meeting minutes. Therefore the minutes were adopted as a fair indication of what transpired in the last meeting.

1. Requirements for the first disbursement of funds from the IDB.

In response to a question regarding the minutes members were provided with a Status of Conditions Precedent to First Disbursement document provided by the IDB. The members were informed that all conditions in the document must be instituted before September 4, 2011 in order to qualify for the first disbursement.

1. Discussion of the required Annual Operational Plan for the project

The members were informed that the Caribbean Tourism Organisation team was responsible for working on this document and it shall be made available for review within the week following the meeting.

1. Update on the selection of the representatives for the National Inter-Institutional Committee

Mr. Griffith stated that the provision of documentation indicating the formation of the National Inter-Institutional Committee were still outstanding from some of the participating countries.

He indicated that this document was submitted by the Bahamas and met the IDB requirements.

The other participating countries were asked to provide this document at their earliest convenience.

1. Recommendation of Consultants

There was much discussion about the hiring of a consultant. Ms. Sonia Jackson from the Jamaica Statistical Institute stated that the qualifications of consultants are necessary. She recommended that the consultant(s) should have a strong background in System of National Accounts (SNA), in addition to having experience in producing Supply and Use Tables (SUT). She further cited that such experience can only enhance the production of Tourism Satellite Accounts.

Mr. Griffith explained that at the initial stage of the project it was not crucial to seek the services of a high powered extra regional consultant, which would ultimately drain the meager resources. He further stated that the main purpose of the consultant at the implementation stage was for assessment and recommendation. It was also noted that this consultant’s work would benefit from related work done under a recently concluded European Union (E.U) sponsored project.

Mr. Griffith asked the members if they proposed an International expert consultant should be hired for this leg of the work or whether the region has a pool of consultants with expertise in the implementation of the Tourism Satellite Account system. In reply, it was mostly felt that an international consultant was not necessary and that expertise could be found region that can execute the project just as effectively.

Mr. Rodinald Soomer from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Secretariat contributed by stating that the members should try to see if the IDB is prepared to fund the regional short-term consultants. His organisation has been fortunate to achieve this with other institutions such as the World Bank with other statistical capacity building projects.

Additionally, it was stated that much of the work must be done by the country. Another suggestion was to have the countries which were more advanced in the development of the TSA system lend technical support to those countries which were not as advance. Ms. Sonia Jackson stated that she will consult with her staff to look at options for the provision of intra-regional technical support.

Ms. Dorsett stated that an assessment must be done first to discover the level of development in each country. After this is achieved, each country should know what is required to create a TSA using the data source. Subsequently, more advance countries such as the Bahamas and Jamaica can decide how best to assist the not so advanced countries. She further stated that countries can also conduct a self-assessment using a template that could be provided by the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

Mr. Rodinald Soomer from the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Secretariat suggested that the consultant(s) assist those countries with assessments where needed. The countries that were able to self-assess should then proceed in doing so.

Mr. Griffith stated that more funds would be sought internationally for the countries to boost their meager resources. He revealed that the funds provided by the IDB had no allocation for data collection and other nuts and bolts activities. As a result the CTO will spearhead the search for additional sources for funding.

Mr. Griffith agreed that reviews should be done expeditiously to grasp a better understanding of each country’s current reality and determine what is needed toachieve the objective. He further stated that previous assessments have fallen short, to the extent that they provided no definitive way of determining what is required from a technical and financial stand point. Mr. Griffith emphasized that he saw no need for a high-powered expert to determine where we are in this phase.

Mr. Clement from Trinidad and Tobago inserted the need to harmonized Supply and Use Tables for the region. There was much agreement however; it was thought that the basics to get the TSA done must be accomplished first. Before achieving the aforementioned they were several unanswered questions that the team must realize in their individual countries; (1) does the country have the support to get what is needed to produce a TSA and (2) how much support is required?

Mr. Dave Clement stated that his country needs all the assistance that could be rendered. He also pointed out that the more advance countries could provide guidance with a sample methodology and registry of establishments. In addition, he held the belief that if the Supply and Use Tables are important then work must be completed to get ahead with it to achieve the final goal of producing the Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA).

Another suggestion included structuring a questionnaire that all the countries are required to complete, after this has been achieved then the members can determine the project strategies.It was proposed that the CTO design the instrument, and then it could be analysed to determine the country’s status and to what degree assistance is required.

Mr. Allister Mounsey from the Trinidad Development Company suggested that skilled personnel are required for the delivery of the project. He explained that due to the various levels of each country, the implementation should adopt the variable speed approach. This was generally agreed on.

There were assessments done on the project in the past as well as in recent times where the content of TSAs was assessed. Mr. Griffith stated that this exercise need not be redone. He proposed having a good reviewer to update what exists instead of hiring an expert.

Mr. Soomer asked if the CTO could locate all of the existing assessments and circulate them for information for the group. Mr. Griffith stated that he would assemble the assessments done and distribute them to the group for review.

1. Other Business

• Members were asked to recommend persons for the directory of prospective consultants

• The online group was created on and members were asked to make use of it for communication

• The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 25th, 2011 at 11AM ECT 10am Jamaica’s time.

1. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 12:45PM ECT.

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