The Saint Lucia Tourism Authority (SLTA) earlier this year revealed that the island had surpassed its best tourism year on record—2019—with a 14 per cent increase in total arrivals and a three per cent rise over 2019’s figures. The sector, which was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, had started to rebound in 2023, with total visitor expenditure estimated at $3.1 billion compared to $2.95 billion in 2022.
A recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report suggested that the island’s 2023 travel export figures could have been overstated by 14 per cent, citing flaws in the data collection method. However, not only is SLTA CEO Louis Lewis standing by the data, but he also pointed out that several concerns identified by the IMF have already been addressed.
The report referenced was done by the Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC).
“In the first instance, some gaps which came out of the 2023 IMF report were identified. But in June of 2024, there was a meeting between the IMF team represented by CARTAC, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the national statistics department and the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority and it was acknowledged that there was scope for improvement in the data capture, particularly with regard to visitor expenditure,” Lewis told St Lucia Times.
He went on to explain that at that meeting, it was acknowledged that while the methodology for capturing data was considered sound, deficiencies in the sampling method had been recognised.
Since then, Lewis said, the SLTA has moved away from mailed surveys to face-to-face interviews, significantly boosting response rates.
“We have actually moved to face-to-face surveys, so that criticism would have been dated and even beyond that, I am not confident that the change in the methodology of capturing data would have yielded any better results. The very CARTAC report cited that in 2019, visitor expenditure was estimated at US$2 354 by the SLTB and US$1 455 by its assessment. It also shows that in 2021 and 2022, the SLTB underestimated visitor spend by 15 per cent and five per cent, respectively. So what does that say about the methodology? But having said so, we have actually done that to ensure that we get as best as possible what we need,” he said.
Lewis acknowledged that while face-to-face interviews are considered the most effective method—allowing targeted selection of respondents based on a sample frame—mail-in surveys also provided useful categorisation for data analysis.
“Getting it by mail-in allows you to also do a categorisation by the categories that you want to interview. So the methodology is not as critical as getting the information that you can categorise properly, and that is what is being done to allow us to come up with a reasonable estimate of what visitor expenditure is,” he emphasised.
Lewis stressed that data collection is not something the SLTA takes lightly, as it drives the authority’s marketing and direction for the industry.
“Data and information are very important for us, and we pay particular attention to that as it forms the bedrock of our strategy going forward,” he told St Lucia Times.
“We have every confidence that the estimates that we put out — and I want to stress and emphasise that they are estimates — that they are accurate, notwithstanding the recognition for ways in which it can be improved…. These are estimates, and they give you a perspective on the direction in which visitor expenditure is taking place. More than that, whenever we are putting out data with regard to estimates, we do a triangulatory verification.”
Explaining that process, Lewis said other factors contributing to expenditure were also examined. He cited increasing tourist arrivals, airline load factors, accommodation occupancy levels, and the number of tours taken as significant components of visitor spending.
Responding to criticisms that non-all-inclusive visitor expenditure was not properly captured, he clarified: “You have to get a representative sample of small hotels, large hotels, all-inclusive hotels, and then you have the additional challenge of EP [European-plan]-type hotels that offer all-inclusive packages. So we go down to that sort of minute, granular detail to come up with an estimate, and these are not things that we take chances with or we skirt around.”
Lewis stressed the importance of accuracy in tourism data reporting.
“I want to underscore the fact that when we put out data with regard to the performance of the tourism industry, it is after careful consideration and review. It is something that we take very seriously,” he stressed to St Lucia Times. “We don’t take those metrics lightly at all, because this is the lifeblood of Saint Lucia’s economy and we need to know everything that is happening in terms of its measurements, its benefits and what the issues are.”
