## A CARTAC technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Saint Lucia (St. Lucia) — October 30–November 3, 2023 ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [A CARTAC technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Saint Lucia (St. Lucia) — October 30–November 3, 2023](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/tar/2024/english/tarea2024036.pdf) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/tar/2024/english/tarea2024036.pdf.md) - [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/tar/2024/english/tarea2024036.pdf.json) --- ### Mission scope and key outcomes - Mission dates: October 30–November 3, 2023. - Joint compilation: Balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) are compiled jointly by the CSO and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB); one ECCB staff participated in the mission. - Focus areas: - Data compilation issues on trade in goods—especially import and re-export of fuel. - Travel credits (visitor average daily expenditure and length of stay). - Assessment of the revised 2022 balance of payments to be disseminated in December 2023. - Revised 2022 net errors and omissions (NEOs): from negative EC$143 million (published March 2023) to negative EC$76 million at the end of the mission. - This equals "1 percent of GDP and 1 percent of credits and debits of the current account." ### Institutional environment and data sources - Legal basis: 2001 Statistics Act of Saint Lucia (Cap 17.12, Vol. 19). - Main data sources: surveys and administrative records. - Balance of payments surveys: - Administered to 114 establishments. - Nominal response rate: around 50 percent in recent years and 50 percent in 2022; reduced to around 40 percent during 2019–2020. - Validation and non-response handling: - Compilers use historical information and financial statements from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). - CSO assigned a statistician for the validation process for BOP surveys to facilitate joint compilation with ECCB. - Dissemination progress: - Metadata, quarterly indicators, and an advance release calendar are disseminated on the ECCB website. - Mission encouraged CSO to disseminate BOP and IIP statistics, metadata, and quarterly indicators on the CSO website as well. ### Imports and re-exports of fuel — findings and data discrepancies - Mirror statistics (UN Comtrade) show significant discrepancies between fuel imports declared by partner countries and CED data for 2020 (HS 2710). - 2020 (HS 2710) partner countries vs St. Lucia declared values (Thousand US$): - Partner countries total imports: 372,003; re-imports: 40,357; total: 412,360. - St. Lucia declared imports: 53,424; re-imports: 0; total: 53,424. - Difference between partner-declared total and St. Lucia-declared total: US$384.1 million (described in text as the difference between fuel imports and exports for 2020 as declared by partner countries). - Select 2020 bilateral figures (As declared by partner countries / As declared by St. Lucia) (Thousand US$): - USA: 340,248 / 16,906 - Trinidad and Tobago: 31,105 / 36,162 - Jamaica: 263 / 243 - Exports of fuel 2020 (HS 2710) (Thousand US$): - As declared by partner countries total: 28,275. - As declared by St. Lucia total: 2,291. - Subtotal partner countries: 28,275; St. Lucia subtotal: 2,067; Other: 0 / 224. - Select partner-declared export recipients (Thousand US$): Suriname 20,755; Barbados 4,164; Bermuda 1,859; France 758. - Causes and contributing factors to discrepancies: - Trading partner attribution differences (country of origin vs country of last known destination), valuation, timing, and revisions. - Two companies store fuel in Buckeye facilities and mainly re-export it; they do not report imports or re-exports that in this case would qualify as temporary imports or goods in transit—this non-reporting blurs mirror statistics comparisons. - CED indicated insufficient resources to revise 2019–2021 data provided to the CSO. Previous missions observed fluctuating monthly fuel import movements and inconsistent values with economic activity until 2021. - Actions taken: - Mission and compilers reviewed available data from main fuel importers through 2022, observing expected behavior consistent with mirror data; therefore, fuel imports provided by the CED have been substituted by direct reports from companies (completed after the end of the mission). - Pending items: - Confirmation that all customs regimes and free trade zone data are included in the trade database received from the CED remains outstanding. - Verification with the Free Zone Management Authority is pending. ### Travel credits — data quality issues, methodology, and commitments - Key issues: - Visitor Exit Survey (VES) conducted by the Tourism Board using email or QR codes since the pandemic; response rate is low. - Monitoring of the sample and its representativeness is limited. - Validation procedures used by the Tourism Board are creating upward biases by disregarding valid responses. - Commitments: - Tourism Board committed to review the validation process and prepare an exercise incorporating valid surveys previously disregarded. - Recommendation: - Return to in-person VES, as budget allows, to accomplish a representative sample that shares the characteristics of the visitors population (target completion: December 2024). ### Key travel statistics (from Appendix IV, US$ MILLION and counts) - Stay over visitors expenditure: 2018 868; 2019 965; 2020 305; 2021 561; 2022 1,052 - Number of stay over visitors: 2018 394,780; 2019 423,736; 2020 130,669; 2021 199,347; 2022 356,237 - Average expenditure of stay over visitors (US$): 2018 2,198; 2019 2,276; 2020 2,334; 2021 2,814; 2022 2,954 - Cruise ship visitors expenditure: 2018 33; 2019 34; 2020 13; 2021 3; 2022 11 - Cruise ship passengers: 2018 684,275; 2019 708,069; 2020 268,097; 2021 84,249; 2022 314,930 - Total number of visitors: 2018 1,152,687; 2019 1,207,330; 2020 425,590; 2021 292,314; 2022 701,874 - Total Visitor Expenditure (Travel credits of the balance of payments): 2018 963; 2019 1,064; 2020 340; 2021 569; 2022 1,090 ### VES methodology and sample notes (selected) - Pre-pandemic (2018–2019): Face to Face Interviews at Departure across quarters (samples vary by quarter). - 2021: Emails retrieved from Amber portal and sent via survey monkey; Q1–2021: 612 responses; Q2–2021: 1,409; Q3–2021: 2,978; Q4–2021: 4,584. - 2022: Amber Portal stopped end-March 2022; Q3–2022 QR Codes scanning and distribution started from August; Q4–2022 QR Codes scanning and distribution. - 2023: March only Q1–2023: 1,132 responses using QR Codes and emails from Online ED Card; Q2–2023: April results 726 (awaiting May & June); Q3–2023: July responses 415. - Mission recommendations (Travel credits): - Follow up with the Tourism Board on the revised results from the VES. - Return to in-person VES, as budget allows, to accomplish a representative sample that shares the characteristics of the visitors population. - BPM6 Compilation Guide paragraph 3.236: compilers should play an active role in development and monitoring of visitor surveys and should obtain individual records for validation, sample review, and post-stratified estimation. ### Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) / International Business Companies (IBCs) - Findings: - IRD reported 3,884 international business companies (IBCs) incorporated in St. Lucia at end-2022. - IRD provided values for gross income by foreign revenue classified by economic sector for 2022; clarifications requested as values seem too low for the quantity of companies. - According to the IBCs Act, an IBC shall at all times have a registered agent and a registered office in St. Lucia. - Table (Number of IBCs 2021–2022): - 2021: Number of IBCs at start of the year 2,392; Number of IBCs registered during the year 940; Number of IBCs closed during the year 0; Number of IBCs at the end of the year 3,332 - 2022: Number of IBCs at start of the year 3,332; Number of IBCs registered during the year 553; Number of IBCs closed during the year 1; Number of IBCs at the end of the year 3,884 - Recommendations (SPEs / IBCs): - Follow up on the clarification requested to the IRD regarding the gross income by foreign revenue of the IBCs. - Collect available quarterly cross-border transactions and positions of the IBCs and include them in ESS. — Target: December 2025 ### Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) - Findings: - No progress on pending information from the CIP Unit. - CIP did not share monthly flows and stocks of the foreign escrow accounts with the CSO as committed during the previous mission. - Additional requests made to CIP Unit to provide information on land sales to nonresidents. - New alien landholding legislation: CIP now has responsibility for the application process for foreigners' licenses to buy property in Saint Lucia (previously the duty of the IRD). - Recommendations (CIP): - Follow up on requests to the CIP Unit on land sales to nonresidents and on flows and stocks of foreign escrow accounts by real estate developers under the CIP. — Targets: April 2024; October 2024 (both dates referenced in the source). ### 2022 revised balance of payments and backcasting - Findings: - Revised 2022 BOP estimates reviewed and compilers will continue incorporating survey data. - Revised 2022 NEOs: changed from negative EC$143 million (data disseminated in March 2023) to negative EC$76 million at the end of the mission. - Expressed as "1 percent of GDP and 1 percent of credits and debits of the current account." - Backcasting: - Complete the backcasting for the BPM6-based 2000-2013 balance of payments statement and submit to IMF STA. — Target completion: January 2024. - Revised 2022 balance of payments will be disseminated in December 2023—jointly with other ECCU countries data—and should incorporate pending data. - Net Errors and Omissions (Table 5, Published March 2023 vs Revised as of November 11, 2023): - 2016: Published 79.3 EC$ Million, 2% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits; Revised 79.3 EC$ Million, 2% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits - 2017: Published -34.8 EC$ Million, -1% of GDP, -1% of current account credits and debits; Revised -34.8 EC$ Million, -1% of GDP, -1% of current account credits and debits - 2018: Published 59.4 EC$ Million, 1% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits; Revised 59.4 EC$ Million, 1% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits - 2019: Published -304.0 EC$ Million, -5% of GDP, -4% of current account credits and debits; Revised -304.0 EC$ Million, -5% of GDP, -4% of current account credits and debits - 2020: Published 142.9 EC$ Million, 3% of GDP, 4% of current account credits and debits; Revised 214.9 EC$ Million, 5% of GDP, 6% of current account credits and debits - 2021: Published 18.1 EC$ Million, 0% of GDP, 0% of current account credits and debits; Revised 183.7 EC$ Million, 4% of GDP, 4% of current account credits and debits - 2022: Published -143.2 EC$ Million, -2% of GDP, -2% of current account credits and debits; Revised -75.8 EC$ Million, -1% of GDP, -1% of current account credits and debits - Recommendations (Revisions and backcasting): - Complete the revision of the 2021–2022 balance of payments incorporating recommendations provided. - Complete the backcasting for the BPM6-based 2000–2013 balance of payments statement and submit it to the IMF’s Statistics Department (STA). ### Fuel imports data and validation (section 18) - Monthly imports of fuel for 2019–2021 have not been revised since the latest ESS mission. - Since last July, additional staff turnovers in the CED hampered progress on inconsistencies of the series. - The CED is making efforts to verify and validate data provided by importers. - Mission and compilers reviewed data from main fuel importers through 2022; observed behavior was consistent with mirror data from partner countries. - Fuel imports provided by the CED have been substituted by direct reports from the companies (completed after the end of the mission). - Improvement in verification and validation of company-reported data is observed for the 2022 data; discrepancy between company-reported data and compilers is significantly lower than in previous years. - Reviewing trade data by HS code, the mission and compilers noted jet fuel sold to aircraft was being reported to the CSO and incorporated in exports; to avoid duplication: - Exports of jet fuel have been removed from the database for balance of payments purposes. - These exports have been recorded as reported directly by fuel companies. - Recommendations (Fuel / trade data): - The CSO to confirm with the CED that all customs regimes and free trade zone data are included in the trade database received from the CED. - Confirm information received from the free trade zone. Contact the Free Zone Management Authority for verification. ### Priority recommendations and action plan (selected items and target dates) - High-level coordination and data quality: - With support of high-level authorities, strengthen collaboration among stakeholders (including the CED and the Tourism Board) to improve data quality for BOP and IIP. — Target: April 2024. - Trade data and customs regimes: - CSO to confirm with the CED that all customs regimes and free trade zone data are included in the trade database received from the CED. — Target: April 2024. - Confirm information received from the free trade zone; contact the Free Zone Management Authority for verification. — Target: April 2024. - Tourism Board / Visitor Exit Survey: - Follow up with the Tourism Board on the revised results from the VES. — Target: April 2024. - Return to in-person VES, as budget allows, to accomplish a representative sample. — Target: December 2024. - CIP and land transactions: - Follow up on requests to the CIP Unit on land sales to nonresidents and on the flows and stocks of the foreign escrow accounts by real estate developers under the CIP. — Targets: April 2024; October 2024 (both dates referenced). - IBCs and financial sector data: - Follow up on clarification requested to the IRD regarding gross income by foreign revenue of the IBCs, the list of registered agents and assigned entities. — Target: April 2024. - Obtain additional information on transactions of deposit-taking corporations; evaluate ECCB financial stability or liquidity analysis reports for supplementary data; contact reporting banks for analytical purposes. — Target: April 2024. - Collect available quarterly cross-border transactions and positions of the IBCs and include them in ESS. — Target: December 2025. - Business register and survey coverage: - Analyse the list of establishments in the business registry in line with their expected contribution to main BOP transactions. — Target: April 2024. - CSO to assign and continue validation processes for BOP surveys and work closely with respondents via phone or virtual meetings focusing on key respondents and economic sectors. - Dissemination and metadata: - Disseminate balance of payments and IIP, metadata and quarterly indicators on the CSO website. — Target: April 2024. - Timeliness and historical series: - Complete BPM6-based backcasting for 2000–2013 and submit to IMF STA. — Target: January 2024. ### Additional operational and action-plan items (selected) - CSO to confirm all customs regimes in trade data from CED (target December 2023) — Pending. - CSO to review Tourism Board VES data representativeness (target December 2023) — Mission reviewed monthly database; recommendations provided. - Follow up with CED on consistent monthly value data on imports and re-exports of fuel for 2018–2022 (target December 2023) — CED indicated they do not have resources to revise previous periods; compilers will use direct data from fuel importers for 2019–2021. - Create a file with monthly time series of fuel imports, exports, and re-exports to assess series and follow up incoming data from CED (target February 2024) — The file has been created and used to validate CED data with available information from fuel importers. - Use mirror data from Saint Lucia’s main trading partners to check consistency — The mission reviewed mirror data with compilers; fuel stored in Buckeye and not reported when imported or re-exported blurred current comparisons. *Source: CARTAC technical assistance mission report to the Central Statistics Office of Saint Lucia (October 30–November 3, 2023).* ### 1. A CARTAC technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) to ### A CARTAC technical assistance (TA) mission on external sector statistics (ESS) to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) of Saint Lucia (St. Lucia) — October 30–November 3, 2023 ### Mission scope and key outcomes - Mission dates: October 30–November 3, 2023. - Joint compilation: Balance of payments (BOP) and international investment position (IIP) are compiled jointly by the CSO and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB); one ECCB staff participated in the mission. - Focus areas: - Data compilation issues on trade in goods—especially import and re-export of fuel. - Travel credits (visitor average daily expenditure and length of stay). - Assessment of the revised 2022 balance of payments to be disseminated in December 2023. - Revised 2022 net errors and omissions (NEOs): from negative EC$143 million (published March 2023) to negative EC$76 million at the end of the mission. - This equals "1 percent of GDP and 1 percent of credits and debits of the current account." ### Institutional environment and data sources - Legal basis: 2001 Statistics Act of Saint Lucia (Cap 17.12, Vol. 19). - Main data sources: surveys and administrative records. - Balance of payments surveys: - Administered to 114 establishments. - Nominal response rate: around 50 percent in recent years and 50 percent in 2022; reduced to around 40 percent during 2019–2020. - Validation and non-response handling: - Compilers use historical information and financial statements from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). - CSO assigned a statistician for the validation process for BOP surveys to facilitate joint compilation with ECCB. - Dissemination progress: - Metadata, quarterly indicators, and an advance release calendar are disseminated on the ECCB website. - Mission encouraged CSO to disseminate BOP and IIP statistics, metadata, and quarterly indicators on the CSO website as well. ### Imports and re-exports of fuel — findings and data discrepancies - Review of mirror statistics (UN Comtrade) shows significant discrepancies between fuel imports declared by partner countries and CED data. - For 2020 (HS 2710), partner countries vs St. Lucia declared values (Thousand US$): - Partner countries total imports: 372,003; re-imports: 40,357; total: 412,360. - St. Lucia declared imports: 53,424; re-imports: 0; total: 53,424. - Difference between partner-declared total and St. Lucia-declared total: US$384.1 million (described in text as the difference between fuel imports and exports for 2020 as declared by partner countries). - Select 2020 bilateral figures (As declared by partner countries / As declared by St. Lucia) (Thousand US$): - USA: 340,248 / 16,906 - Trinidad and Tobago: 31,105 / 36,162 - Jamaica: 263 / 243 - Other partner aggregates shown in TABLE 2. - Exports of fuel 2020 (HS 2710) (Thousand US$): - As declared by partner countries total: 28,275. - As declared by St. Lucia total: 2,291. - Subtotal partner countries: 28,275; St. Lucia subtotal: 2,067; Other: 0 / 224. - Select partner-declared export recipients (Thousand US$): Suriname 20,755; Barbados 4,164; Bermuda 1,859; France 758. - Causes and contributing factors to discrepancies identified: - Trading partner attribution differences (country of origin vs country of last known destination) and valuation, timing, and revisions. - Two companies store fuel in Buckeye facilities and mainly re-export it; they do not report imports or re-exports that in this case would qualify as temporary imports or goods in transit—this non-reporting blurs mirror statistics comparisons. - CED indicated insufficient resources to revise 2019–2021 data provided to the CSO. Previous missions observed fluctuating monthly fuel import movements and inconsistent values with economic activity until 2021. - Actions taken: - Mission and compilers reviewed available data from main fuel importers through 2022, observing expected behavior consistent with mirror data; therefore, fuel imports provided by the CED have been substituted by direct reports from companies (completed after the end of the mission). - Pending items: - Confirmation that all customs regimes and free trade zone data are included in the trade database received from the CED remains outstanding. - Verification with the Free Zone Management Authority is pending. ### Travel credits — data quality issues and commitments - Key issues: - Visitor Exit Survey (VES) conducted by the Tourism Board using email or QR codes since the pandemic; response rate is low. - Monitoring of the sample and its representativeness is limited. - Validation procedures used by the Tourism Board are creating upward biases by disregarding valid responses. - Commitments: - Tourism Board committed to review the validation process and prepare an exercise incorporating valid surveys previously disregarded. - Recommendation: - Return to in-person VES, as budget allows, to accomplish a representative sample that shares the characteristics of the visitors population (target completion: December 2024). ### Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) and Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) - Special Purpose Entities: - IRD reported 3,884 international business companies (IBCs) incorporated in St. Lucia at end-2022. - IRD provided values for gross income by foreign revenue classified by economic sector for 2022; clarifications requested as values seem too low for the quantity of companies. - Priority to collect available quarterly cross-border transactions and positions of the IBCs and include them in ESS (target completion: December 2025). - Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP): - No progress on pending information from the CIP Unit; CIP did not share monthly flows and stocks of the foreign escrow accounts with the CSO as committed during the previous mission. - Additional requests made to CIP Unit to provide information on land sales to nonresidents. - New alien landholding legislation: CIP now has responsibility for the application process for foreigners' licenses to buy property in Saint Lucia (previously the duty of the IRD). - Follow up on requests to CIP Unit on land sales to nonresidents and on flows and stocks of foreign escrow accounts by real estate developers under the CIP (target completion: October 2024 / April 2024 noted in different parts of the document). ### 2022 revised balance of payments and backcasting - Revised 2022 BOP estimates reviewed and compilers will continue incorporating survey data. - Revised 2022 NEOs: changed from negative EC$143 million (data disseminated in March 2023) to negative EC$76 million at the end of the mission. - Expressed as "1 percent of GDP and 1 percent of credits and debits of the current account." - Backcasting: - Complete the backcasting for the BPM6-based 2000-2013 balance of payments statement and submit to IMF STA (target completion: January 2024). ### Priority recommendations and action plan (selected items and target dates) - High-level coordination and data quality: - With support of high-level authorities, strengthen collaboration among stakeholders (including the CED and the Tourism Board) to improve data quality for BOP and IIP. — Target: April 2024. - Trade data and customs regimes: - CSO to confirm with the CED that all customs regimes and free trade zone data are included in the trade database received from the CED. — Target: April 2024. - Confirm information received from the free trade zone; contact the Free Zone Management Authority for verification. — Target: April 2024. - Tourism Board / Visitor Exit Survey: - Follow up with the Tourism Board on the revised results from the VES. — Target: April 2024. - Return to in-person VES, as budget allows, to accomplish a representative sample. — Target: December 2024. - CIP and land transactions: - Follow up on requests to the CIP Unit on land sales to nonresidents and on the flows and stocks of the foreign escrow accounts by real estate developers under the CIP. — Targets: April 2024; October 2024 (both dates referenced). - IBCs and financial sector data: - Follow up on clarification requested to the IRD regarding gross income by foreign revenue of the IBCs, the list of registered agents and assigned entities. — Target: April 2024. - Obtain additional information on transactions of deposit-taking corporations; evaluate ECCB financial stability or liquidity analysis reports for supplementary data; contact reporting banks for analytical purposes. — Target: April 2024. - Collect available quarterly cross-border transactions and positions of the IBCs and include them in ESS. — Target: December 2025. - Business register and survey coverage: - Analyse the list of establishments in the business registry in line with their expected contribution to main BOP transactions. — Target: April 2024. - CSO to assign and continue validation processes for BOP surveys and work closely with respondents via phone or virtual meetings focusing on key respondents and economic sectors. - Dissemination and metadata: - Disseminate balance of payments and IIP, metadata and quarterly indicators on the CSO website. — Target: April 2024. - Timeliness and historical series: - Complete BPM6-based backcasting for 2000–2013 and submit to IMF STA. — Target: January 2024. *Source: CARTAC technical assistance mission report to the Central Statistics Office of Saint Lucia (October 30–November 3, 2023).* ### 18. Monthly imports of fuel for 2019–2021 have not been revised since the latest ESS mission. ### tarea2024036 - 18. Monthly imports of fuel for 2019–2021 have not been revised since the latest ESS mission. ### Fuel imports data and validation - Monthly imports of fuel for 2019–2021 have not been revised since the latest ESS mission. - Since last July, additional staff turnovers in the CED hampered progress on inconsistencies of the series. - The CED is making efforts to verify and validate data provided by importers. - Mission and compilers reviewed data from main fuel importers through 2022; observed behavior was consistent with mirror data from partner countries. - Fuel imports provided by the CED have been substituted by direct reports from the companies (completed after the end of the mission). - Improvement in verification and validation of company-reported data is observed for the 2022 data; discrepancy between company-reported data and compilers is significantly lower than in previous years. - Reviewing trade data by HS code, the mission and compilers noted jet fuel sold to aircraft was being reported to the CSO and incorporated in exports; to avoid duplication: - Exports of jet fuel have been removed from the database for balance of payments purposes. - These exports have been recorded as reported directly by fuel companies. Recommendations (Fuel / trade data): - The CSO to confirm with the CED that all customs regimes and free trade zone data are included in the trade database received from the CED. - Confirm information received from the free trade zone. Contact the Free Zone Management Authority for verification. ### Travel credits (visitor expenditure, VES methodology and data quality) Findings: - Further efforts are needed to improve the quality of data on visitor's average daily expenditure and length of stay. - Since the pandemic, the Tourism Board conducts the Visitor Exit Survey (VES) by email or using QR codes; the response rate is low and monitoring of sample representativeness is limited. - The mission reviewed a one-month sample: sample by visitor’s country was consistent with population characteristics, but responses are mainly from visitors who stayed at hotels (all-inclusive and others) and do not represent those who stayed in private homes or Airbnb. - The Tourism Board’s validation procedure is creating upward bias by excluding valid responses when surveys lack breakdown by expense category: - For all-inclusive hotel respondents without breakdown, they estimate category expenses. - For other accommodation types without breakdown, they exclude the survey. - The Tourism Board committed to review this process and to prepare an exercise incorporating previously disregarded valid surveys; results will be incorporated to adjust current estimates of travel credits. - Mission strongly recommended returning to in-person VES and active participation of the CSO in implementation, processing, and validation. - BPM6 Compilation Guide paragraph 3.236: compilers should play an active role in development and monitoring of visitor surveys and should obtain individual records for validation, sample review, and post-stratified estimation. Recommendations (Travel credits): - Follow up with the Tourism Board on the revised results from the VES. - Return to in-person VES, as budget allows, to accomplish a representative sample that shares the characteristics of the visitors population. Key travel statistics (from Appendix IV, US$ MILLION and counts): - Stay over visitors expenditure: 2018 868; 2019 965; 2020 305; 2021 561; 2022 1,052 - Number of stay over visitors: 2018 394,780; 2019 423,736; 2020 130,669; 2021 199,347; 2022 356,237 - Average expenditure of stay over visitors (US$): 2018 2,198; 2019 2,276; 2020 2,334; 2021 2,814; 2022 2,954 - Cruise ship visitors expenditure: 2018 33; 2019 34; 2020 13; 2021 3; 2022 11 - Cruise ship passengers: 2018 684,275; 2019 708,069; 2020 268,097; 2021 84,249; 2022 314,930 - Total number of visitors: 2018 1,152,687; 2019 1,207,330; 2020 425,590; 2021 292,314; 2022 701,874 - Total Visitor Expenditure (Travel credits of the balance of payments): 2018 963; 2019 1,064; 2020 340; 2021 569; 2022 1,090 VES methodology and sample notes (selected, Appendix V): - Pre-pandemic (2018–2019): Face to Face Interviews at Departure across quarters (samples vary by quarter). - 2021: Emails retrieved from Amber portal and sent via survey monkey; Q1–2021: 612 responses; Q2–2021: 1,409; Q3–2021: 2,978; Q4–2021: 4,584. - 2022: Amber Portal stopped end-March 2022; Q3–2022 QR Codes scanning and distribution started from August; Q4–2022 QR Codes scanning and distribution. - 2023: March only Q1–2023: 1,132 responses using QR Codes and emails from Online ED Card; Q2–2023: April results 726 (awaiting May & June); Q3–2023: July responses 415. ### Special Purpose Entities (SPEs) / International Business Companies (IBCs) Findings: - IRD indicated 3,884 international business companies (IBCs) were incorporated in St. Lucia at the end of 2022. - IRD provided values for gross income by foreign revenue classified by economic sector for 2022; clarifications requested as values seem too low for the quantity of companies. - According to the IBCs Act, an IBC shall at all times have a registered agent and a registered office in St. Lucia. - Request includes list of registered agents and, if possible, number and assigned entities to investigate available information to collect transactions and positions of the IBCs to include in ESS. Table (Number of IBCs 2021–2022): - 2021: Number of IBCs at start of the year 2,392; Number of IBCs registered during the year 940; Number of IBCs closed during the year 0; Number of IBCs at the end of the year 3,332 - 2022: Number of IBCs at start of the year 3,332; Number of IBCs registered during the year 553; Number of IBCs closed during the year 1; Number of IBCs at the end of the year 3,884 Recommendations (SPEs / IBCs): - Follow up on the clarification requested to the IRD regarding the gross income by foreign revenue of the IBCs. - Collect available quarterly cross-border transactions and positions of the IBCs and include them in ESS. ### Citizenship by Investment Program (CIP) Findings: - No progress has been made on pending information from the CIP Unit. - The CIP did not share monthly flows and stocks of the foreign escrow accounts with the CSO as committed during the previous mission. - Additional requests made to the CIP Unit to provide information on land sales to nonresidents. - Under new alien landholding legislation, the CIP now has responsibility for the application process for foreigners' licenses to buy property in Saint Lucia (previously under IRD). Recommendation (CIP): - Follow up on the requests to the CIP Unit on land sales to nonresidents and on the flows and stocks of the foreign escrow accounts by the real estate developers under the CIP. ### 2022 revised balance of payments and backcasting Findings: - Revised 2022 balance of payments estimates compared with those published in March 2023 were reviewed. - Compilers will continue incorporating data from surveys. - With information received, the 2022 NEOs went from negative EC$143 million according to data disseminated in March 2023 to negative EC$76 million at the end of this mission (1 percent of GDP and 1 percent of credits and debits of the current account). - Backcasting for BPM6-based 2000–2013 balance of payments statement is under revision jointly between the ECCB and the ECCU countries; dissemination expected for December 2023. - Revised 2022 balance of payments will be disseminated in December 2023—jointly with other ECCU countries data—and should incorporate pending data. - The balance of payments for 2020–2022 as of October 13, 2023 is in Appendix II. Net Errors and Omissions (Table 5, Published March 2023 vs Revised as of November 11, 2023): - 2016: Published 79.3 EC$ Million, 2% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits; Revised 79.3 EC$ Million, 2% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits - 2017: Published -34.8 EC$ Million, -1% of GDP, -1% of current account credits and debits; Revised -34.8 EC$ Million, -1% of GDP, -1% of current account credits and debits - 2018: Published 59.4 EC$ Million, 1% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits; Revised 59.4 EC$ Million, 1% of GDP, 1% of current account credits and debits - 2019: Published -304.0 EC$ Million, -5% of GDP, -4% of current account credits and debits; Revised -304.0 EC$ Million, -5% of GDP, -4% of current account credits and debits - 2020: Published 142.9 EC$ Million, 3% of GDP, 4% of current account credits and debits; Revised 214.9 EC$ Million, 5% of GDP, 6% of current account credits and debits - 2021: Published 18.1 EC$ Million, 0% of GDP, 0% of current account credits and debits; Revised 183.7 EC$ Million, 4% of GDP, 4% of current account credits and debits - 2022: Published -143.2 EC$ Million, -2% of GDP, -2% of current account credits and debits; Revised -75.8 EC$ Million, -1% of GDP, -1% of current account credits and debits Recommendations (Revisions and backcasting): - Complete the revision of the 2021–2022 balance of payments incorporating recommendations provided. - Complete the backcasting for the BPM6-based 2000–2013 balance of payments statement and submit it to the IMF’s Statistics Department (STA). ### Additional operational and action-plan items (selected) - CSO to confirm all customs regimes in trade data from CED (target December 2023) — Pending. - CSO to review Tourism Board VES data representativeness (target December 2023) — Mission reviewed monthly database; recommendations provided. - Follow up with CED on consistent monthly value data on imports and re-exports of fuel for 2018–2022 (target December 2023) — CED indicated they do not have resources to revise previous periods; compilers will use direct data from fuel importers for 2019–2021. - Create a file with monthly time series of fuel imports, exports, and re-exports to assess series and follow up incoming data from CED (target February 2024) — The file has been created and used to validate CED data with available information from fuel importers. - Use mirror data from Saint Lucia’s main trading partners to check consistency — The mission reviewed mirror data with compilers; fuel stored in Buckeye and not reported when imported or re-exported blurred current comparisons. *Source: tarea2024036 - 18. Monthly imports of fuel for 2019–2021 have not been revised since the latest ESS mission.* --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/tar/2024/english/tarea2024036.pdf_