#informedopinions

Mbabane, Eswatini — 16 April 2025 By: Thabiso Njoko

The third day of the International Trade Centre (ITC)’s specialized training on Travel Services in Eswatini brought together statisticians, trade experts, and data professionals to deepen their understanding of trade intelligence through robust data handling techniques. The session emphasized fostering African trade integration by strengthening statistical capacity in travel-related services.

Kickstarting with Coffee & Concepts

After a quick Q&A recap of Day 2, things got serious. The morning dove straight into sampling techniques, using real-world case studies from Spain and France to explore how countries collect data without a complete business registry. The solution? Smart sampling — think stratified methods, population frameworks, and creative workarounds.

“We don’t have to count everyone. We just have to count smart,” one participant noted during the group exercise.

Building Better Data: Processing & Precision

Next came the data processing phase, where participants learned how raw survey responses turn into reliable national statistics. It’s more than just crunching numbers — it’s about linking records, correcting errors, and identifying those wild outliers (like the accommodation provider who over-reported by 100x — ouch!).

Tools and techniques covered:

Regression and ratio imputations

Nearest-neighbour donor methods

Automated editing software (yes, robots helping with stats!)

From France’s donor-clustering method to New Zealand’s COVID-era imputation models, the global examples made it clear: no two countries do it the same, but everyone’s working toward the same goal — better data for better decisions.

Imputations: Filling in the Blanks

If you’ve ever skipped a survey question, you’ve contributed to one of the biggest challenges in statistics: missing values. Day 3 tackled this head-on with exercises on how to handle non-response. Do you adjust the weights? Impute values? Go back and ask again?

Participants learned about:

Longitudinal imputation (filling in today’s blanks using yesterday’s answers)

Weighting adjustments to account for non-responding units

And most importantly — choosing the right method for the right situation

Making Data Speak: Dissemination & Metadata

Stats are only as useful as people’s ability to understand them. The final session explored how platforms like OECD’s Data Explorer, ITC Trade Map, and Eurostat make data accessible through strong metadata and sleek design.

“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” — T.S. Eliot, as quoted in the final slide.

A reminder that stats aren’t just about counting tourists — they’re about informing policy, supporting business, and building a stronger future.

Wrapping Up with Smiles (and Certificates)

After hours of exercises, discussions, and plenty of “a-ha!” moments, the day ended with a certificate ceremony. Shoutout to the ITC team — especially Christophe Durand and Katerina Blanchard Joklova — for making data training engaging and hands-on.

Final Takeaway

Whether you’re a tourism officer, a data geek, or just curious about how numbers shape our economy — this training was a powerful reminder that behind every statistic, there’s a story.

And in Eswatini, that story is just beginning.

Because we spend the majority of our lives either forming opinions, or listening to other people’s opinions, it’s important we’re informed about the opinions we go on to form.

It’s not that anyone goes out of their way to get opinions wrong of course, but without opinions being backed by facts that are supported by logic, our opinions and how we deliver those opinions will always fall short of the mark.

Bringing perceptions into opinions without research or logic, means our opinions can’t be quantified. Unfortunately, opinions can never be equal because there are so many things that need to be brought into the equation first that need to be considered.

When we come from a place of knowledge, our opinions will always be more robust and sophisticated and will lend themselves to more relevant and accurate discussions. Unfortunately, the more we go in and talk about things we know very little about; the harder it is to come back from or back down from those opinions.

It may also change other people’s perceptions of us because of how we choose to handle ourselves, because without being completely informed; those opinions could well turn into arguments.

Opinions help us grow emotionally and for that reason alone it’s important to make sure our opinions are relevant and present.