The President of the NSI participated in the yearly DGINS conference

The President of the NSI, Assoc. Prof. Atanas Atanasov, PhD participated in the 110^th DGINS conference, which took place in Split, Croatia. The event was organized by the Croatian Bureau of Statistics in close cooperation with Eurostat. The theme of this year’s conference was “European Tourism Statistics: A Forward-Looking and Innovative Response to 21st Century User Needs”.

During the conference many topics concerning the collection, processing and production of European statistics on tourism were discussed. Special attention was given to specific user needs concerning data on tourism, as well as the integration of new technologies and innovative practices when producing these types of data. An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the current European methodology and legislation for collecting and developing data on tourism was also made, with a view to identifying potential ways of modernizing and amending. An emphasis was placed on the key role that National Statistical Institutes play in measuring the economic importance of tourism on national and European level.

The DGINS conference is the most important forum in the European Union for discussing new opportunities and challenges in the production of official statistics, sharing good practices and knowledge within the framework of the European Statistical System. The event is held annually in one of the EU Member States.

Immediately after the DGINS conference, the 60^th Meeting of the European Statistical System Committee (ESSC) took place. Key issues were discussed during the meeting, such as the European statistics on digitalization, the revamping of the European business and trade statistics. Ways to improve the efficiency of the European Statistical System were also discussed, with a view to reducing administrative burden and simplifying European statistical legislation, as well as the implementation of the revised Regulation (EC) 223/2009 on European Statistics, especially concerning access to privately held data.