In a move to facilitate and simplify access
to statistical information, the Tourism Ministry has signed
an agreement with the Central Bank of Honduras to create the
Tourism Satellite Account.
The agreement, signed by Tourism Minister Thierry de Pierrefeu
and Central Bank President Maria Elena Mondragón, was
made in response to an initiative launched by the countries
of Central America through the Central American Tourism Council
and the Puebla-Panama Plan to compile precise data that can
be sued to calculate the true contribution of the tourism
sector to the region’s economies. In cooperation with
each country’s Tourism Ministry, the Central Banks will
manage a National Accounts System in each of the participating
countries. These will serve as a base from which to calculate
overall contributions and analyze specific sectors.
The Central Bank of Honduras brings to the project years
of experience managing similar data bases, such as the Gross
Domestic Product Report and the Consumer Price Index. In cooperation
with the Tourism Ministry it will lend its skills to the tourism
sector, which is playing an increasingly important role in
national economies worldwide.
As tourism expands across the globe, so too has our awareness
of the sector’s potential. Not only is tourism an excellent
generator of foreign revenue, it is also an excellent source
of new jobs, aggregated value on investments, personal income
for local families and tax revenues for the central government.
The Tourism Satellite Account will take the descriptive information
on tourist flow and service conditions already complied by
local tourism organizations and expand its scope with additional
data in key areas. It will keep all information continually
updated, guaranteeing its relevance and credibility.
