(REOI):Implementation of Action Plan for Improvement of Tourism Statistics  127 views

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (REOI)

Country: The Gambia

Project: Tourism Diversification and Resilience in The Gambia Project (TDRGP)

Project ID No.: P177179

Assignment Tittle: Implementation of Action Plan for Improvement of Tourism Statistics 

Reporting to: Project Director

Duration: 28 Months .

Background

The Government of The Gambia is implementing the Tourism, Diversification, and Resilience in The Gambia Project (TDRGP) which is supported by an IDA Investment Project Financing (IPF) and will be executed for five years. The objective of the project is to strengthen sustainable tourism by supporting the enabling environment, building capacity, promoting access to finance for tourism related Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and building resilience through risk management and strengthening sustainable coastal infrastructure. The project aims to contribute to economic growth and employment generation by enhancing selected tourism destinations in The Gambia through improving the sector’s enabling environment, increasing the participation and value addition of tourism related MSMEs, and developing sector resilience with the restoration, upgrading, and preservation of critical tourism assets as well as product diversification.

This project will also enhance and strengthen capacity to collect, analyze and disseminate tourism-related data and statistics to support planning and strategy development in the tourism sector. In this regard, Component 1a: Improved Institutional capacity for data driven planning, marketing, and branding is imperative. The objective of this subcomponent is to improve the ability of the country to collect, disseminate, and use data to inform its tourism planning efforts and to attract a more diverse set of high value niche market segments within traditional, non-traditional source markets including visitors from the subregion and domestic market.

Activities under this subcomponent aim to support the development of a participatory data-driven marketing strategy with a focus on digital tools and channels and non-traditional markets and segments; strengthen the capacity of the Gambia Tourism Board (GTB) and related institutions in data collection, analysis, and dissemination; and improve interinstitutional coordination. In particular, the activities aim to achieve diversification by developing different marketing approaches to attract a new set of tourists, including existing target market segments, higher value-added tourists, and niche market segments within existing traditional primary source markets and non-traditional investment markets.

Objective of the Consultancy

The overall objective of this consultancy is to build the capacity of the responsible individuals within the relevant institutions to collect, analyze, and disseminate tourism statistics for informed evidence-based decision making for tourism policy, strategy, marketing, planning, and product development. To achieve this objective, the consultants will address the capacity gaps inhibiting robust tourism data collection, analysis, management, and dissemination and will actively involve the tourism private sector. This includes the development of capacity building curriculum and delivery of on-the-job capacity building including mentorship through the sharing of concepts, classifications, definitions, and the implementation of best practice survey methodologies and systems set out by UN Tourism and countries leading the way in tourism statistics. It also includes methods for ensuring private sector collaboration and dissemination. 

Scope of Work

The scope of services will include three primary activities:

1. Literature Review and Development of the On-the-job Capacity Building Programme 

The purpose of Activity 1 is to understand the depth and breadth of the work completed to date and develop an on-the-job capacity building including mentorship programme. The activity will begin with a review of all the relevant literature and work undertaken so far by the MoTC to improve the national tourism statistics system with an emphasis on the 10 macro level key performance indicators that will be used to assess the overall success in implementation of the National Tourism Policy and Strategy of The Gambia 2022-2031 (NTPS) and the outputs from the Institutional Capacity Assessment for Data-driven Planning, Marketing and Branding consultancy. The existing body of work will be utilised as the basis for the design of the new capacity building programme. 

The consultant will then develop a minimum of a five-day training programme that is fully informed by the training plan that has been developed and deliver the course materials, including the learning objectives, training structure, and training schedule, as well as an instructor’s manual and guidelines, training manuals, practical exercises/handouts, PowerPoint presentations, course workbooks and handouts and post course evaluations. The training will include soft and hard skills development such as the relevant concepts, classifications, definitions, and work-related attitudes and behaviors, and it will support the implementation of best practice survey methodologies and systems set out by UN Tourism and countries leading the way in tourism statistics. 

1. Mentorship and Implementation Support

In addition to the multi-day training programme, the firm will develop a time-bound on-the-job mentorship programme to support and oversee the successful implementation of the following activities:

• The tracking of the relevant macro level key performance indicators from the NTPS and implementation of the related strategies and key interventions;
• The implementation of the Visitor Inbound Visitor Surveys (Air and Land), Cruise and Yacht Visitor Surveys, and Domestic Tourism Survey and development of related reports; 
• The implementation of the Accommodation Capacity and Utilisation, Visitor Attraction Statistics, and the Website and Social Media statistics collection and the development of related reports;
• The initial development and implementation of the IT infrastructure and management information system that is selected; 
• The recommended data modeling (as applicable) and follow-on analysis on tourism supply and demand including big data sources secured; 
• Preparatory support for the development of a TSA and a costed Sustainability Plan for its continuous functioning; and
• Development of reporting templates and areas on the GHTI website for providing public statistics information in a timely manner. 

The following are the main surveys to be conducted and systems to be established:

Activities and Organization
B2: Inbound Visitor Survey
Recipients: CBG, GTB and GBoS
B3: Cruise Tourism
Recipients: GTB and GBoS
B4: Domestic Tourism
Recipients: GTB, GBoS, GHA
B5: Accommodation Capacity and Utilisation
Recipients: GTB, GBoS and GHA
B6: Attractions Visitation and Revenue Generation
Recipients: NCAC, GTB and GBOS
C1: Management Information System for Tourism
Recipients: MoTC, GTBoard, GHA, NCAC, GTHI, GBoS, GID
D1: Technical Assistance on the Development of Tourism Satellite Account
Recipient: GBoS

These activities should be delivered with the following methodology and processes in place:

The Consultants should be assigned at least two Counterparts in each organisation that they are providing on-the-job training for. As set out in the table above, these are: GTB, GID, GBoS, MoTC, GHA and NCAC. These Counterparts should be available at all times when the Consultant(s) are in-country.
The Consultants should secure the active involvement of private sector organizations and institutions involved in the accommodations and attractions sub-sectors. These Counterparts should be available at all times when the Consultant(s) are in-country.
The Consultants should establish a programme of work that clearly identifies objectives, goals and achievement measurables for all activities where on-the-job training. It should be noted that manuals cannot cover every aspect and eventuality of training, as this is not feasible or possible, but should cover the core skills provided.

Delivery of on-the-job Capacity building Programme and Mentorship

The purpose of Activity 3 is to deliver the multi-day training program and follow-on on-the-job capacity building including mentorship programme developed in Activity 1. This activity will begin with the implementation of the multi-day training program. The consultancy will first have participants complete pre-course participant needs surveys and use them to inform the personalisation of the trainings. The training programme will be delivered in English Language, and the trainers leading the trainings will help each participant achieve the learning objectives.

Deliverables and Timeline
The expected project timeline is from December 2024 through April 2027 with the initial multi-day training beginning as soon as January 2025. The firm will submit the following deliverables while carrying out the tasks listed above:

Qualification and Experience 

The consulting firm is expected to fulfill, at minimum, the following selection criteria. The team should include at least four (4) members with extensive experience in the following areas amongst them:

• At least 10 years’ experience in designing or developing tourism statistical systems in line with UN Tourism standard guidelines.
• Documented experience of at least five (5) years in organizing, developing, and implementing national tourism statistics systems and capacity building and mentoring relevant government institutions on how to successfully implement national tourism statistics systems 
• Documented expertise and professional experience in vocational education and delivering tourism capacity building courses that support soft and hard skill development
• Submission of evidence of the availability of experienced and qualified personnel to fulfil the requirements of the assignment and the Terms of Reference 
• At least two (2) similar assignments conducted in the last five (5) years and direct involvement in Tourism Satellite Accounts in other countries.
• Knowledge of UN Tourism definitions and Manuals is essential.
• Strong applicable primary research track record in tourism statistical framework.
• Expertise in creating tourism statistical and database systems and understanding of the role of research in destination marketing and market trends.
• Proven experience in tourism data management and multi stakeholder engagements in tourism statistical framework development.
• Experience in facilitating capacity buildings, meetings and/or events on leadership and confidence building 
• Excellent knowledge of tourism development, markets, and trends 
• Experience working in developing countries, particularly in Africa, is a must.
• Knowledge of The Gambia and destinations with similar tourism ecosystem and product profile will be an added advantage.
• Experience in conducting visitor and tourism establishment surveys.
• Experience working in Tourism statistics in Sub Saharan Africa.
• Commitment to uphold high ethical standards and respect for data confidentiality.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English 

A multi-disciplinary team of four (4) key experts will be required for the execution of this assignment and one of the experts will serve as the team leader. Key experts shall not be replaced during the execution of the assignment without written agreement and will be subject to an available replacement with equal or higher qualifications and relevant work experience. However, additional non-key personnel may also be proposed in order to strengthen or broaden the project team.

Key Expert 1: Team Leader – Tourism Statistics Specialist  

Qualification and Work Experience

• Master’s degree in tourism management, sustainable Tourism Development, tourism planning, development planning or related discipline.
• At least 10 years’ experience, amongst which direct experience the development in implementation of Internation Visitor Surveys.
• Familiarity, knowledge and experience in tourism database management and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) as a tool in assessing the importance of tourism in the national economy is essential.
• Experience with destination development and management, gender and inclusive development in Africa is a plus.
• Capacity to communicate fluently with different stakeholders in destination management such as civil society, government authorities, local communities, and project staff
• Demonstrated experience of having undertaken similar
• Exceptional analytical and documentation/reporting skills.
• High level of computer skills
• Immediate availability

Key Expert 2: Statistician  

Qualification and Work Experience

• Must have a minimum of master’s degree in statistics or a related discipline. Demonstrated experience of having undertaken similar assignments.
• Proven experience in applying statistical techniques to the collection, computation, analysis and distribution of tourism related data.
• Considerable practical experience of carrying out surveys such as visitors, establishment, out-of-pocket expenditure and exit surveys for at least ten years.
• Good analytical and documentation/report writing skills.
• High level of computer skills such as Full command of Microsoft applications as well CSpro, SPSS or similar statistical packages.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and effectively work with people of diverse academic backgrounds and sensitivity to diverse cultural contexts are essential.

Key Expert 3: Economist

Qualification and Work Experience

• Must have a minimum of Master’s degree in Economics or Econometrics or any closely related field. 
• Must have a minimum of 5 years work experience in applied policy and/or data analysis in an economic development or tourism-related field. 
• Good knowledge of the UN Tourism’s substantive work, particularly in tourism-related policy research would be an asset. 
• Must have experience in managing huge volume of data from multiple sources and producing high quality evidence-based economic analysis and recommendations to guide policy action. 
• Must have experience in engaging and dealing with government institutions/agencies and other stakeholders as well as development of indicators at different levels and knowledge of TSAs. 
• Must have experience in delivering workshops/capacity building seminars on tourism-related policy and data topics would be an asset. 
• Familiarity with using at least one common statistical software package. 
• Demonstrated ability to communicate and effectively work with people of diverse academic backgrounds and sensitivity to diverse cultural contexts are essential. 

Key Expert 4: Information Technology Specialist

Qualification and Work Experience

• Master’s degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, or related field. 
• Demonstrated experience of having undertaken similar assignments. 
• Must have a minimum of 5 years’ work experience in designing, operating and/or managing large scale multi-location. 
• Must be knowledge in the design, costing and establishment of tourism related Management Information System (MIS) especially for a developing country. 
• Must have expertise in development of web-based systems for large programmes and designing suitable solutions for a scalable & modular MIS system along

The Project  now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience of performing the Services

Duration of the Assignment

The consultancy is expected to be last for a period of 28 months.  

The Project Implementation Unit (PIU) of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture invites eligible firms to apply. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (has qualification and experience in similar conditions etc.), as well as submit an EoI outlining their experience in doing similar assignments and why they are suited for the assignment. For the evaluation criteria, Firms will be shortlisted based on the criteria below.

• Firms number of years of experience designing or developing tourism statistical systems in line with UN Tourism standard guidelines- 20%
• Qualification of Key Experts and number of years’ Experience in organizing, developing, and implementing national tourism statistics systems and capacity building and mentoring relevant government institutions on how to successfully implement national tourism statistics systems 40%
• Firms’ knowledge and experience in designing or developing tourism statistical systems in line with UN Tourism standard guidelines MDBs.- 30%
• World Bank experience will be an added advantage- 10%

The firm will be selected in accordance with guidelines for the recruitment of Consultant Qualification Selection (CQS) Method set out in the Procurement Regulations; World Bank Procurement Regulations (PR) for IPF Borrowers, fifth Edition dated September 2023.

Potential applicants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours 0800hrs to 1600hrs from Monday to  and Friday 0800hrs to 12:30hrs and to review the Terms of Reference via email from bkujabi@piumotc.gm. 

Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address below (in person, or by mail) by Tuesday, 24 December 2024  at 12:00pm Gambian Time.

Attn: Mr. Momodou Ceesay

Project Director 

Project Implementation Unit 

Plot No. 49 Kotu East Estate 

Off Bertil Harding Highway 

Tel: 220 9825949 /3971747

E-mail: mceesay@piumotc.gm;  

CC:   cordujabang@yahoo.com   bkujabi@piumotc.gm