World Bank Group
Preparation of a Strategic Action Plan for Strengthening Tourism Enterprises in North East India: Gender Approach
Partner/Client
Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation and Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE)
Sector
Development Consultancy
Location
North East India (Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland)
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- The project was commissioned by World Bank Group and North East Council, and implemented in partnership with the Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation and Global Himalayan Expedition (GHE)
- The consultancy focused on building a strategic action plan to enhance tourism competitiveness and upgrade value chains of popular tourism market segments of North East States (NES), through women and community led enterprises.
- It spanned one year (2019-2020) across five key implementation stages of inception, baseline study, enterprise survey, strategic action plan development and implementation of pilot actions.
APPROACH
- 141 respondents were included during the baseline study and 200 tourism sector entrepreneurs participated in the enterprise survey across three states.
- Weighted Scoring Methods were used to identify the top NorthEast destinations and tourism value chain segments for the study’s focus.
- The Strategic Visitor Flow (SVF) approach was used to understand the tourism offerings of destinations, visitors and their spatial behavior within the destination, answering questions of why visitors are coming (e.g. their motives), what they are doing (e.g. their different activities) and how they are behaving (e.g. their spending pattern).
- Gender Analysis tools and the ‘Stakeholder Mapping Donut’ tool formed an inherent part of the consultancy.
- The study included conversations with NGOs (Aaranyak, North East India Committee on Relief and Development, Foundation for Social Transformation), donor support institutions (North East Development Finance Corporation, Foundation for Eco- logical Security (FES), Assam State Biodiversity Board), regional development centers (North East Network, NEDFI India, Confederation of North East NGOs) and education providers (IIT, TISS, Meghalaya Institute of Entrepreneurship). The study also consulted tour operators (Chalo Hoppo, Kaziranga Tours, Shillong Travels, Nagaland Hornbill Tours & Travels), hotels and resorts (Radisson Blue, Kiranshree Grand, Dynasty Ho- tel) and homestays (Longchen Homestay, Razhu Pru – Homestay); along with various levels of government stakeholders such as tourist officers, deputy commissioners, and director of tourism departments.
INSIGHTS AND FINDINGS
- Women-owned enterprises are largely concentrated in accommodation, crafts & souvenirs, and food & beverage sectors of the tourism value chain.
- Nature, Adventure and Culture Tourism have the most potential for growth in the North East States.
- More than 65% entrepreneurs were between 31 and 40 years of age, showcasing a very young demographic involved with tourism entrepreneurship in the region.
- 69% of the enterprises had temporarily or permanently closed operations due to challenges relating to the Covid-19 pandemic and government lockdown mandates.
- Transport and digital access were the main external factors that affected operations and should be prioritized to improve tourism development in NER.
- Poor knowledge of marketing, lack of finance, and business continuity planning were identified as the key issues faced by tourism enterprises.
RECOMMENDATIONS / VALUE ADDITION
The consultancy resulted in a robust analytical foundation that can inform the development of support for tourism Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and entrepreneurs in North East States, by the State and Multilateral Donor Agencies.
Based on the identified opportunities and challenges faced by MSMEs and women entrepreneurs, recommendations included the promotion of available Government schemes, training programs for entrepreneurs on marketing, communication and finance; tourism product development like food tours, caving, bungee jumping, glamping, etc.
- Pilot Initiatives were undertaken as part of the consultancy where informational animated videos were created on available finance for MSMEs and Covid-19 safety protocols for the accommodation sector. Multi-stakeholder workshops were organized to fuel cross learning on successful marketing strategies among entrepreneurs of the region.
- A Youtube Channel with created videos for the consultancy can be accessed here.
