Employees

Economist

Employee Name:

Amy Wongkanlayanush

Title:

Economist

Ministry:

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts

Background:

Education: Ph.D. in Population & Development (National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand); Master of Arts in Economics (Thammasat University, Thailand)
Member of the BC Public Service Since: 2007

My Role

I provide expert social and economic impact analyses, evaluations, and recommendations regarding proposed tourism business development projects, policies, legislation and programs. I work on things such as festivals; anything related to tourism for the Heritage Branch if they want to assess information. I'll look at urgent issues like the rising Canadian dollar and the factors that affect tourism and then provide that information to the Deputy Minister. Tourism data is updated every month and sent to other branches. This is especially helpful for executives so they can understand changes in factors like room revenue, cruise ships, airport capacity and the many additional tourism indicators.

Career Path:

I spent twenty years teaching at the Faculty of Economics at Kasetsart University in Thailand. In addition, I have fourteen years experience in research and two years experience as chair of the Bachelor Degree of Economics Special Program. I really wanted my son to study here in Canada. I found that my research skills from Thailand were transferable so coming to B.C. was a good opportunity for me and my son.

What I Like Best:

What I like best about the BC Public Service and my job is the excellent working environment and great team players. I like that the work is challenging and it will never be the same. I learn more and more with every project that comes, so my knowledge increases every time I get a new project. I've learned more and more about tourism stats, not just in B.C., but in other provinces. In some projects, I have the chance to share my experiences with other experts, it's quite dynamic.

Ideas At Work:

I support the branch in fielding information that is needed for policy planning so they can use it in order to set up strategies to resolve problems that occur in the tourism industry. As part of the branch, I am the one that provides the background information that helps the executive team in making decisions that will increase revenue or increase the number of visitors to our province. I've provided data to the BC Winter Games Society and just finished calculating the economic impact of the recent BMX Championships.

Advice:

If you are seeking a diverse, dynamic and multi-disciplinary work environment under challenging working conditions, you would enjoy being an economist. It is important that you have analytical and research skills. You will get better and better and learn more by doing the job. Look into co-op opportunities so that you can learn how government works as well.