Pacific Tourism Organisation Releases 2023 Tonga Tourism Survey: Key Insights into Visitor Trends and Economic Impact

The Pacific Tourism Organisation (SPTO) through its Pacific Tourism Data Initiative (PTDI), released the survey results from the International Visitor Survey (IVS) for the Kingdom of Tonga. The IVS for Tonga, conducted from January to December 2023, sheds light on visitor demographics such as country of origin, age, gender, and purpose of visit. Over this period, SPTO gathered insights from 1,003 respondents, representing a total of 3,147 adults and 985 children—about seven percent of the actual visitors to Tonga.

These respondents cited several key factors driving their decision to visit, including the warmth and hospitality of the local people, a variety of engaging activities and attractions, and the overall cleanliness of the environment.  In 2023, Tonga saw approximately 55,749 international arrivals by air, contributing an estimated $69 million to the local economy, according to the IVS.

Emphasising the importance of PTDI in providing actionable insights, SPTO CEO Christopher Cocker, mentioned that PTDI is instrumental in helping understand tourism dynamics in Tonga and the region.

“By leveraging data-driven insights, this initiative helps policymakers, businesses, and other stakeholders understand tourism dynamics in Tonga and other Pacific Island countries. The IVS report is just one example of how SPTO is committed to delivering timely and relevant information to support sustainable tourism development,” Mr Cocker said.

The PTDI is a component of the SPTO Phase 2 project on Pacific Digital Tourism Transformation, funded by the New Zealand Government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and committed to enabling evidence-based decision-making through the annual publication of three pivotal reports: a bi-annual International Visitor Survey (IVS), an annual Business Confidence Index (BCI), and an annual Community Attitude Survey (CAS) from ten Pacific Island nations (Cook Islands, Niue, PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Kiribati, Timor Leste, and FSM-Yap).