ILOILO City — Western Visayas will put tourism under the statistical lens this October as government agencies roll out a month-long series of activities aimed at showing how data can guide policies, expose challenges and opportunities, and help build more inclusive, resilient and sustainable destinations.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), together with the Regional Statistics Committee (RSC), has lined up contests, webinars and other activities across the region for the 37th National Statistics Month (NSM).
This year’s celebration carries the theme, “Tuklas Pilipinas: Statistics as Beacon Towards Inclusive, Resilient, and Sustainable Tourism.”
The theme underscores that Philippine tourism goes beyond destinations and attractions, with statistics providing a clearer picture of the people, communities, economic opportunities and challenges behind every place visited by travelers.
Regional Statistics Committees serve as the coordinating bodies for NSM activities in their respective regions.
In Western Visayas, the celebration kicks off on Oct. 5 with a tree-planting activity in San Miguel, Iloilo, an opening ceremony at Robinsons Place Iloilo, and an e-poster-making contest for high school students.
A Statistical Analysis Contest via Zoom and a Statistical Infographics Contest will follow on Oct. 8.
Other activities include the LGU Travelog Contest on Oct. 12, Photography Contest on Oct. 13, Statistical Infomercial Contest on Oct. 14, and judging for the Best Statistical Page from Oct. 19 to 21.
Junior high school students will also test their knowledge in the Regional Statistics Quiz on Oct. 22 at the Regional Development Council Hall.
The month-long celebration will culminate on Oct. 29 with the relaunch of the RSC VI website and the closing and awarding ceremony at Casa Real de Iloilo.
A series of webinars will complement the competitions and other activities.
On Oct. 5, the webinar “From Numbers to Action: Measuring Tourism in the Philippines, Shaping Decisions” will discuss the use of tourism statistics in policymaking.
This will be followed on Oct. 12 by “From Data to Destinations: How Sablayan Uses Statistics to Guide Local Tourism,” and on Oct. 19 by “Advancing Sustainable Tourism for the Future.”
The final webinar, “Travel Stats? Ano, Tara! Alamin ang Datos sa Likod ng mga Biyahe,” is scheduled for Oct. 26.
The PSA spearheads the annual NSM celebration, which seeks to promote awareness and appreciation of the importance and value of statistics in government planning and decision-making.
National Statistics Month was first observed in October 1990 pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 647 signed by then President Corazon C. Aquino on Sept. 20, 1990./PN
