Technical Assistance Consultant s Report

Transcription

1 Technical Assistance Consultant s Report Technical Assistance 6504-REG March 2013 Regional: Improving Connectivity and Destination Management of Cultural and Natural Resources in the South Asia Subregion Prepared by Tourism Leisure and Sports Europraxis This consultant s report does not necessarily reflect the views of ADB or the Government concerned, and ADB and the Government cannot be held liable for its contents. (For project preparatory technical assistance: All the views expressed herein may not be incorporated into the proposed project s design.

2 TA 6504-REG: Improving Connectivity and Destination Management of Cultural and Natural Resources in the South Asia Subregion Final Report March 2013

3 ABBREVIATIONS ADB -- Asian Development Bank EA -- executing agency GMS -- Greater Mekong Subregion IA -- implementing agency NGO -- nongovernment organization NTO -- national tourism organization NRM -- Nepal Resident Mission PPP -- public-private partnership RETA -- regional techanical assistance SA -- South Asia SASEC -- South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation SAARC -- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SATIDP -- South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project SLRM -- Sri Lanka Resident Mission TA -- technical assistance TWG -- Tourism Working Group UNESCO -- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNWTO -- United Nations World Tourism Organization NOTE In this report, $ refers to US dollars. 2

4 CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction Activities Undertaken Subregional Tourism Strategy and Road Map 2011 to Forums, Learning Events and Tourism Working Group Meetings Forums and Learning Events Forums and TWG Meetings Study Tour to the Greater Mekong Subregion Participation in Regional Meetings Website Design and User Training Program Translation of UNESCO Manual Institutionalization of Subreginal Tourism Cooperation Cooperation Framework Document Proposed Subregional Tourism Coordination Unit RETA Results and Recommendations APPENDICES Appendix 1: Final Version of SASEC Tourism Strategy & Road Map Appendix 2: Reports on the Forum and Learning Events Appendix 3: Minutes of Forums and TWG Meetings Appendix 4: Study Tour Report Appendix 5: Chiang Mai TWG Briefing Paper Appendix 6: Website Development Appendix 7: Translations of UNESCO Site Management Manual Appendix 8: Draft SASEC Cooperation Framework Document Appendix 9: Draft Institutional Position Paper Appendix 10: Proposals to Subregional Tour Operators :

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6 1.0 Introduction 1. This is the final report on the works under the regional technical assistance (RETA) as revised and extended by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The report sets out the works undertaken against the following outputs: Preparation of an updated Subregional Tourism Strategy and Road Map In-country forums, learning events, study tour and Tourism Working Group (TWG) meetings. Design of a South Asia subregional tourism website as the primary marketing tool to promote Buddhist heritage and other culture and nature-based multi-country circuits. Translation of UNESCO Manual on managing tourism at UNESCO World Heritage sites into the languages of the countries. Institutionalization of subregional cooperation in tourism through signing of a cooperation framework and establishment of a subregional coordination institutional arrangement. 2. The final status of the activities on the above initiatives is presented below together with recommendations on the thrust of possible future technical assistance that ADB may consider undertaking. 2.0 Activities Undertaken 2.1 Subregional Tourism Strategy and Road Map 2011 to The subregional tourism strategy and road map was completed in September 2011, presented and discussed at the Dhaka TWG Meeting in December 2011, and finalized and accepted by the TWG at the March 2012 TWG Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 4. The agreed vision for the road map is: to develop South Asia s unique Buddhist heritage, and natural and cultural heritage assets into well-developed-integrated-and-conserved, sustainablymanaged, and globally-branded-and-marketed most preferred destinations. To achieve this overall vision, the revised strategy: focuses the entire regional cooperation agenda on the integrated development of thematic multi-country tourism circuits as identified in the 2008 SASEC Tourism Development Project, which led to SATIDP; prioritizes the sequence of developing the multi-country thematic circuits and their subcircuits from an implementation point of view as identified in the study, which led to SATIDP; sets out an integrated development strategy and 5-year road map for implementation of the multi-country thematic circuits; sets out effective institutional arrangements for implementation and communication to monitor and evaluate progress, coordinate project activities, garner private sector 5

7 participation, and share knowledge and experience; and provides a mechanism for updating the strategy and road map to keep it relevant as the guiding framework for the subregional tourism cooperation agenda. 5. The specific outcome targets of the strategy are as follows: increase the annual rate of international tourism growth to the subregion from 6% to 7.5% between 2005 and 2015, i.e., a minimum target of an additional 740,000 international tourists per annum by 2015 (TDP, p.120) as indicated by national and state tourist statistics; generate an additional 265,000 jobs and an incremental increase of around 135,000 per annum and slow the growth in number of unemployed in key areas of the subregion from 8-to-10% to 5% by 2015 as indicated by national and state tourist statistics; maintain current length of stay and expenditure levels with total expenditure increasing by $280 million annually by 2015 of which government is estimated to receive $50 million in the subregion as indicated by national and state tourist statistics; create new livelihood opportunities in the subregion as indicated through the number of ecotourism programs up and running within and/or in the vicinity of the major UNESCO World Heritage sites and national protected areas; improve the state of conservation of affected cultural and natural heritage sites as indicated by: (i) training of tourist heritage guides, (ii) training of site mangers, (iii) adoption of tourism management plans, (iv) number of restoration and conservation works undertaken, and (v) improved carrying capacities (target all UNESCO listed World Heritage sites) located within the two thematic multi-country tourism circuits. 6. The core objective of the revised strategy is to develop and promote two multi-country thematic tourism circuits and their sub-circuits namely: 1. The In the Footsteps of Lord Buddha and His Followers Circuit comprising: The Footsteps of Lord Buddha (1) and The Sri Lanka Buddhist Heritage Route (6) as its core; with The Bangladesh Heritage Route (3), with; the Himalayan Heritage Route (2) including the Nepal Ecotourism Circuit (previously (2)) and The North East Himalayan Circuit (previously (3)) as subsidiary circuits; and 2. The South Asia Nature and Adventure Circuit comprising: The Brahmaputra River Route (4), The Great Himalaya Trail (5), The Himalayan Heritage Route (2), and The Sri Lanka Nature Tourism Route (7) as its core; with The Bangladesh Heritage Route (3), and The eastern parts of the Himalayan Heritage Route (2) (i.e. The Bhutan-India Circuit previously (5) as its subsidiary. 7. Within the context of the multi-country tourism circuits, the revised strategy focuses upon: 1. Promoting sustainable and inclusive development of thematic multi-country Buddhist heritage and natural heritage circuits involving: (i) safeguarding heritage sites and landscapes in the priority thematic tourism circuits; (ii) promoting the participation of the 6

8 private sector as key actors in the development of tourism; and (iii) developing tourism infrastructure to support new livelihood opportunities among the less advantaged people. 2. Capacity building and knowledge and experience sharing to support sustainable development and marketing involving: (i) developing a subregional tourism knowledge and experience platform; (ii) organizing learning activities designed to prepare public sector tourism officials to manage tourism human resource development issues; and harmonizing the collection and analysis of tourism statistics in the subregion. 3. Marketing and product development of thematic multi-country Buddhist heritage and natural heritage circuits involving: (i) joint marketing initiatives to position and promote the two thematic circuits in their target markets; and (ii) promoting product development and improvements in standards of tourist facilities and services. 8. A copy of the final report is attached at Appendix Forums, Learning Events and Tourism Working Group Meetings 9. A key component of the RETA was the organization of a series of in-country forums and learning events, as well as combined forums and TWG meetings designed to build technical and institutional organization capabilities for subregional cooperation among public sector tourism officials, as well as natural and cultural heritage tourism site managers. In this context, the consultants facilitated the organization and holding of five in-country forums and learning events, a study tour to the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), and three (3) forums and TWG meetings during the course of the RETA Forums and Learning Events 10. A mission to carry out the in-country forums and orientation seminars visited the five countries participating in the RETA according to the following itinerary to present and discuss the revised draft subregional tourism sector strategy and road map, and the action plan for the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) in the tourism sector. Dates Venue Technical Sire Visits 1-3 September 2011 Thimpu, Bhutan Taktsang Monastery in Paro 5-7 September 2011 Lumbini, Nepal Sacred Garden and Park 9-11 September 2011 Kandy, Sri Lanka Sacred Temple of Tooth Relic September 2011 Gangtok, Sikkim, India Rumtek, Ray Mindu and Lingdum Monasteries and local Buddhist village September 2011 Dhaka, Bangladesh Mainamati Heritage Site in Comilla 11. The mission comprising the following ADB and Consultant members: Mission Participants Mr. K. Tamaki, Senior Urban Development Specialist/Mission Leader, SAUW Mr. A. Srivastava, Senior Project Officer (Urban), INRM Ms. E. Morsheda, Project Officer (Urban Infrastructure), BRM Mr. L. Rieder, Team Leader/Tourism Planning Specialist (consultant), Tourism and Leisure Advisory Services SL (TLA) Mr. E. Johansson, Marketing & Community Tourism Development Specialist (consultant), TLA: Mr. D. Cabulay, Capacity Building Expert (consultant), TLA Ms. D.G. Saxena, Conservation Architect (resource person) Countries Visited Nepal and Sri Lanka India Bangladesh All All All Bhutan and Bangladesh 7

9 Ms. L. Priya, Conservation Architect (resource person) Mr. K. Acharya, Heritage Conservation Specialist (resource person) Mr. A.P. Wijeratne, Conservation Architect and Planner (resource person) Bhutan Nepal Sri Lanka 12. Mr. Y. Acharya, Economics Officer, NRM, participated in the Nepal forum and orientation seminar; and Mr. K.M. Tilakaratne, Senior Project Officer, SLRM, assisted the Mission in its coordination with the Government in Colombo. 13. A total of 199 participants from the five countries attended the one-day forum, 125 public sector officials attended the learning events of which 89 undertook the technical site visits. The following Table shows the participation statistics between the five countries. Country Venue Forum Day 1 Learning Event Day 2 Technical Visit Day 3 Bangladesh-Dhaka Bhutan-Thimpu India-Gangtok Nepal-Lumbini Sri Lanka-Kandy Total Key points raised and discussed in the Forums were: Can the existing circuits be expanded, for example, to the East Coast in the case of the Cultural Triangle in Sri Lanka? It was agreed that the circuits could be adjusted to include areas such as the East Coast but that it was the responsibility of the country to take the initiative to do this. Whilst all agreed that safeguarding heritage sites is very important, the question of What assistance is available for determining site carrying capacities? was discussed. Basically, the translation of the UNESCO manuals would assist site managers to do these with technical support form UNESCO and other organizations. The concern raised in Bhutan about how to retain the character of original traditions without modernizing them was also discussed. It was noted that there were various ways in which living traditions can be preserved even with a context of modernization. The example of how traditional Balinese villagers have successfully retained their traditions while modernizing their economic lives was given as best practice to consider. The question of how a low-volume-high-yield tourism fits into the subregional cooperation program was raised and discussed. It was noted that the two are not incompatible since the tourism product portfolio and offering should be like a menu that can interest mass tourism as well as niche high-value tourism flows. Tour operators especially in Nepal and Bhutan raised the issue of how to ensure a fairer revenue-sharing arrangement between tour operators in the countries of the subregion. In discussion, it was agreed that there was a need to build up a range of activities that could be done in a country such as developing facilities to allow visitors to see more sites around the Lumbini World Heritage site and getting tour operators together in subregional forums to address this problem. 8

10 A number of countries raised the issue of how cross-border issues would be addressed. In this context, it was noted that there was already an initiative at the SAARC level to achieve this. A number of participants raised the issue of how realistic the product club concept was. It was noted that these had been pioneered in South America and that the outcome had been OK. Many participants pointed out the need to focus on Buddhist heritage rather than just pilgrimage aspect since the former offered greater economic benefits. A number of participants expressed some concern about buy-in by governments into the road map implementation of subregional cooperation initiatives especially institutional arrangements for marketing. Some participants asked about the targets to be met in the subregional strategy and road map. It was noted that these were provided in the related draft document. Some participants asked if Bagdogra could really become the hub airport for the northeast portion of the subregion. It was noted that this was happening by default although the Government of India was in the process of planning development of a greenfield regional international airport in the area. Finally, a number of delegates sought clarification on what support can be provided for tourism human resource development. It was noted that apart from this forum and learning event program, there would be a study tour, and that detailed training would be up to each country to provide. 15. A copy of the minutes of the forum, learning event and technical site visit in each country is attached at Appendix Overall, the participants generally concurred with the thrust of the revised strategy and road map of action. In general, there was strong interest in the mechanics of implementation and support mechanisms in key areas such as heritage safeguarding, marketing, and tourism human resource development. 17. As part of the Forum and Learning Event in Bhutan, the cultural heritage resource persons assisted the Bhutan Tourism Council and the Department of Culture to prepare the outline of a tourism management plan for Taktsang Monastery. A copy of the report is also included in Appendix Forums and TWG Meetings 18. Three Tourism Working Group Meetings and accompanying forums were organized and facilitated during the course of the RETA: The 10 th TWG Meeting and one and a half day planning workshop held in Kathmandu, Nepal from 5 to 6 August The 11th TWG Meeting and associated one day symposium held in Dhaka, Bangladesh from 18 to 19 December The 12th TWG Meeting and one day forum held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 15 to 16 March

11 19. The main purpose of the 10 th TWG meeting in Kathmandu was to review the results of the planning workshop setting out a revised draft subregional tourism development road map and to agree to the work plan for the RETA going forward. A copy of the minutes of the 10 th TWG meeting is attached at Appendix The main purpose of the 11 th TWG meeting in Dhaka was to: discuss and agree the final draft of the revised subregional tourism development cooperation strategy and road map; review progress on the design and implementation of the website and the translations of the UNESCO Manual for World Heritage site managers; review the details for the organization of the study tour to the Greater Mekong Subregion; discuss the draft of a subregional cooperation framework that would guide the countries in cooperating in the tourism sector going forward; and present and discuss proposals for the establishment of a subregional coordination unit in Colombo, Sri Lanka, based on its offer to host the office at the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. 21. The TWG agreed the form of the final report ready for printing and posting on the ADB website, endorsed the website design and sought the cooperation of all parties to cooperate in providing content for the website. While the TWG agreed in principle to the concept of the cooperation framework and establishment of the coordination unit, they advised that they would have to go back to their governments to discuss these and would present their positions at the next TWG meeting planned to be held in Colombo in March A copy of the minutes of the 11 th TWG meeting and the one-day forum is attached at Appendix The 12 th TWG meeting was intended to: finalize discussions on the signing of the subregional tourism cooperation framework; finalize arrangements for the establishment and funding of the coordination unit and to kick-start arrangements for the operation of the website and coordination office in Colombo; and hear the consultants closing report on the activities of the RETA and the way forward. 23. The main decisions of the 12thTWG were: Cooperation Framework Charter: Bangladesh and Bhutan indicated that they were not authorized to sign the framework on behalf of their governments. Nepal concurred and the TWG decided to bring draft Framework Agreement back to their respective ministries for further consideration. Funding of the Coordination Unit Operations: The Bhutan delegate advised that Bhutan would not be in the position to support funding for the office operatons including the website maintenence at this time. The other countries advised that they still needed to conclude discussions with their ministries on the funding issue and asked for more time to complete these and report the results at the next meeting of the TWG. It was noted that the funding sources for marketing under the existing loan projects for tourism for Bangladesh, India and Nepal could be tapped to meet the funding requirements of the office and that this could be explored as an alternative source of funding the unit and the website. 10

12 The TWG members also requested that the RETA be extended and that additional funding be made available to help meet the office operational costs. 24. The countries agreed to study the matter further at a future TWG to be held possibly in March 2013 in Kathmandu. A copy of the minutes of the 12 th TWG meeting and the one-day forum is attached at Appendix Study Tour to the Greater Mekong Subregion 25. The study tour was originally scheduled to be undertaken from 26 February to 4 March 2012 but slightly postponed from 4 March to 10 March with delegates returning to their home countries on Sunday, 11 March. 26. The tour was intended to provide firsthand observation and discussion on the way in which subregional cooperation in tourism is undertaken and managed in the Greater Mekong Subregion with a view to taking back lessons that could be applied in the area of institutional organization, marketing and product development targeting pro-poor tourism projects and products. The initial itinerary which was to visit Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Viet Nam had to be adjusted as Lao PDR and Viet Nam were unable to extend visa-on-arrival privileges to the Bangladesh delegation (and to the Bhutan delegation in the case of Viet Nam). As a result, the final itinerary of the study tour involved: Visit to Bangkok in Thailand by all delegations to observe the operations of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and hold discussions with the Thailand Ministry of Tourism, and the Thai Tourism Authority on the coordination, organization and funding of subregional product development and marketing; Visit to Siem Reap, Cambodia by all delegations to hear briefings from the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism on their participation in the GMS subregional cooperation program, site inspection and briefing from ABSARA on the management of tourism at the Angkor Wat complex, and inspection of the Siem Reap water and sewerage treatment plant funded under the GMS Tourism Infrastructure Development Porject. Visit to Southern Lao PDR by all delegates except those from Bangladesh to hear presentations by the Lao Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Information on their participation in the GMS cooperation program, and to inspect various community-based tourism and infrastructure projects funded under the GMS Sustainable Tourism Development Laon and Grant Project. 27. Notwithstanding the difficulty of some delegates travelling to Lao People s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam, all participants advised that they had gained valuable insights into: (i) how the institutional organization of subregional cooperation could be arranged after seeing the operations of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and after holding discussions with its staff; (ii) how subregional marketing could be carried out including use of website marketing approaches and private sector participation; and (iii) the approach to project design and implementation with strong focus on pro-poor tourism projects and how to implement these. Overall, the participants advised that they had found the study tour most instrumental and had taken many lessons that they could apply in the home countries and at the subregional level. The detailed itinerary is attached at Appendix 4. 11

13 2.2.3 Participation in Regional Meetings 28. In addition to the learning events and forums, the consultant team leader attended the SAARC Tour Operators Conclave held in Delhi in July Presentations on the RETA objectives, strategies and action plans were also made by the consultant team leader and the ADB s team leader at the UNWTO South Asia and UNWTO East Asia and the Pacific Joint Commissions Meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand in May 2012; and at the Indian Ministry of Tourism-sponsored Buddhist Conclave held in Varanasi and Bodh Gaya in Northern India in September/October UNWTO Joint Commissions Meeting: Participation in the meeting in Chiang Mai in May 2012 was at the request of the UNWTO to discuss the way forward with regard to the institutionalization of the subregional cooperation agenda. At a side meeting of the TWG involving the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and its counterpart national tourism organization of Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka (Bangladesh did not attend the Joint Commissions meeting) and the UNWTO Regional Representative, it was agreed that the proposed subregional institutional structure would best be placed within a private sector framework to which the countries could contribute funding for specific promotional purposes. The suggested private sector organizations were the tour operators associations in each country that could be asked to form a partnership to house the coordination unit, and undertake the updating and coordination work to maintain the subregional cooperation agenda. The countries indicated that if the financing could be made part of a subregional promotional activity led by the tour operators, then it would be possible to provide funds for this purpose. In this context, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India suggested that a presentation be made on this subject to the subregional tour operators at the planned SAARC Tour Operator Conclave to be held in Delhi in July A copy of the paper for discussion with the TWG on the sidelines of the UNWTO meeting is attached at Appendix The SAARC Tour Operators Conclave 2.3 Website Design and User Training Program 31. One of the key components of the RETA is the development of a website to jointly promote and market online the multi-country circuits designed to increase arrivals and to enhance the tourism activities of each country. 32. The website aims to provide a platform for: Promoting the different circuits to the general public. Offering and selling tourism products associated with the routes. Communicating between tourism professionals involved in the subregional cooperation program. 33. The website design is structured into five different categories: Circuits Packages Festivals & Events Partners Media 12

14 34. The basic website design was completed in October 2011 and presented at the Dhaka Subregional Forum and TWG Meeting held in December While further minor adaptations were made in February 2012 and presented in final form at a Subregional Forum and TWG Meeting held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in March 2012, contents remain the major challenge, since this primarily depends on each country s contribution. Three formal worksheets were created to get the required content of the website from participating countries (Worksheet nr. 1: Data about circuits and sites; Worksheet nr. 2: Data about the country; Worksheet nr. 3: Data about potential partners). Although a number of worksheets were provided, the aim was to have the countries complete the contents and uploading process through the establishment of a subregional coordination unit either operated by countries with proposed office in Colombo, Sri Lanka or alternatively by the private sector through national tour operators associations in partnership with the countries. 35. A business model aiming to make the website financially self-sustainable by generating sufficient revenues on a long-term basis was designed as part of the RETA and discussed with the country executing agencies and the private sector. The website business model has a strategic perspective based on product, target markets and segments, management and commercialization. Appendix 6 sets out the proposed business model. 36. A website management training program was organized in each country from 29 February to 14 March This training tour comprised 2-day onsite training sessions at each participating country with the aim of supporting the management of the website once the countries take the lead on subregional marketing and promotion. 37. The course was based mainly on practice, covering the following topics: uploading and removing images on the website and the social networks; uploading news and events; modifying the information given at any category of the website; modifying the product development portfolios uploaded on the website; updating the events calendar; creating, removing or modifying partners information, tourism packages and deals on the website; and managing the social networks linked to the website (community management). 38. The 2-day courses were given at a hotel or meeting venue arranged with the support of the executing agencies. The participants comprised professionals from the Ministry of Tourism and the national tourism organization mainly at the management and technical level as well as private sector agencies from the tour operators. The participants to the training sessions were provided with a user-manual allowing them to make full-potential use of the website. The timing of each training workshop and list of participants in each country is provided in Appendix Translation of UNESCO Manual 39. One of the important outputs of the RETA was to assist local site managers and staff to enhance heritage site management capabilities. In addition to engaging site managers in the in-country learning events, the RETA sought to provide further technical guidance to a larger 13

15 number of site managers in each country by translating Series No. 1 - Managing Tourism at World Heritage Sites: A Practical Manual for World Heritage Site Managers" (see: into the national languages of the subregion, namely Bengali, Dzongkha, Nepali, Hindi, Singhalese and Tamil. The translations were completed in December 2012 and are attached at Appendix 7. The translations have been distributed to the executing agencies in each country for further editing and printing. 2.5 Institutionalization of Subregional Tourism Cooperation 40. One of the final objectives of the RETA was to institutionalize the cooperation in tourism by providing a formal framework for cooperation or charter that could be signed by the countries, and by establishing a formal institutional structure that would facilitate the cooperation process particularly the marketing, website content updating and TWG secretariat functions Cooperation Framework Document 41. The draft of a proposed cooperation framework document for signature by the TWG was prepared, presented and discussed at the 11th TWG Forum and Meeting in Dhaka in December A copy of the draft document is attached at Appendix 8. As noted in the discussions at the TWG, while the TWG agreed in principle to the concept of the cooperation framework that included the establishment of a proposed coordination unit, the TWG members advised that they would have to go back to their governments to discuss these and would present their positions at the next TWG meeting planned to be held in Colombo in March At noted in the minutes of the 12 th TWG meeting in Colombo Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Bhutan indicated that they were not authorized to sign the framework on behalf of their governments. Nepal concurred and the TWG decided to bring the draft Framework Agreement back to their respective ministries for further consideration Proposed Subregional Tourism Coordination Unit 42. The proposal for establishing an institutional structure to coordinate subregional cooperation activities was raised as part of the preparation and finalization of the subregional tourism development strategy and road map. The proposed coordination unit was intended to maintain the Internet marketing function based on a dedicated website for this purpose, monitor progress on other components of the subregional cooperation agenda, and provide secretarial support to the TWG. The funding of the unit was to be shared among the countries. The overall specification and funding formula of the proposed coordination unit is set out in Appendix 9. At the time in November 2011, it was learned that the UNWTO might be interested in establishing a UNWTO regional tourism resource centre in South Asia and the consultants took the initiative to approach UNWTO to see if it would be interested in locating its centre in the proposed subregional tourism coordination office in Sri Lanka. Some initial proposals for this were worked out between UNWTO and ADB and included in the agenda of the 11 th TWG Meeting in Dhaka scheduled for December The proposal was discussed at the 11 th TWG Meeting and although the TWG welcomed Sri Lanka s offer, as well as possible participation of the UNWTO, they advised that they would have to go back to their governments to discuss the funding proposal and would present their positions at the 12th TWG meeting scheduled in Colombo, Sri Lanka in March As noted in the minutes of the 12 th TWG meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the Bhutan delegate advised that Bhutan would not be in a position to support funding for the office operations at 14

16 this time. The other countries advised that they had yet to conclude discussions with their ministries on the funding issue and asked for more time to complete these and report the results at a future meeting of the TWG. It was noted by the ADB team leader that the funds for marketing under the existing loan projects for tourism for Bangladesh, India and Nepal could be tapped to meet the funding requirements of the office and that this could be explored as an alternative source of funding the unit and the website. 44. Soon after the 12th TWG Meeting, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority advised that the Ministry of Economic Affairs had expressed some concerns regarding the establishment of a subregional cooperation coordination office in the compound of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and deferred further action on the establishment of the office. Although a number of attempts were made to clarify the issues and concerns, as at the time of the closing of the RETA, no firm decision had been made and the establishment of the proposed office in Sri Lanka lapsed. 45. At the request of the UNWTO, the ADB team leader and the consultant team leader attended the annual UNWTO South Asia and UNWTO East Asia and Pacific Region Joint Commissions meeting in Chiang Mai, Thailand to present the subregional cooperation program; and to discuss with TWG members at a side meeting on the way forward with regard to the establishment of a coordination unit and web-based marketing program. At the side meeting attended by all TWG member states except Bangladesh, it was agreed that as it would be very difficult to transfer funds to any one hosting country to maintain an office, that it would be easier if this function were taken up by the private sector that had the flexibility to move funds around the region, and into which the countries could make contributions from their promotion budgets. Although Bhutan advised that it would be unlikely to provide funding even on this basis, it was agreed that this approach was the most viable way to go forward. In this context, the Ministry of Tourism representative, Government of India advised that it was organizing a SAARC Tour Operators Conclave in Delhi in July 2012 and that this would be a good opportunity to present the concept and obtain support from the tour operators. 46. The consultant team leader subsequently participated in the Conclave held from 5 to 7 July 2012 at which he made a number of presentations to the major tour operators of the subregion as well as representatives of their tour operators associations. A copy of the presentation material is attached at Appendix 10. Overall, there was a fair degree of interest from the President of the Nepal Tour Operators Association indicating that it would be willing to host the unit to coordinate the marketing and other components of the subregional cooperation agenda provided that promotional funding were forthcoming from the countries, and on the basis of a proof-of-concept tour to determine the actual realities of offering the proposed Buddhist, and nature and culture multi-country tourism circuit. The representative from Nepal agreed to work with his colleagues in the other countries to mount a caravan tour following the main routes of the multi-country circuits to determine the issues that needed to be addressed before taking on the detailed web-based marketing function. However, although the issue was again discussed with major tour operators from India at the Buddhist Conclave in Varanasi and Bodh Gaya in October 2012, the matter has not progressed any further indicating that the private sector in fact does not give high priority to the multi-country product circuit concept. 15

17 3.0 RETA Results and Recommendations 47. The main achievements of the RETA include: Preparation and finalization of an agreed revised subregional tourism cooperation strategy and road map. Heightened awareness about the value of subregional cooperation in tourism in the key segments of the multi-country Buddhist heritage, and nature and culture tourism circuits through participation in various forums, learning events, TWG meetings, and a study tour to the GMS. Enhanced tools for better manageing important heritage sites provided through learning events, translation of the UNESCO Manual on World Heritage site management, and preparation of a sample outline site management plan for Taksang Monastery in Bhutan. Design of a marketing website with training in website management and content development. 48. The main difficulties of the RETA were: India s temporary withdrawal from the RETA ostensibly on the basis that its outputs were not considered to be a high priority by the Department of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism; the inability of the countries and their private sectors despite a number of efforts to establish and finance the proposed subregional coordination unit either in Colombo as originally offered by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority or in Kathmandu based on the initial offer by the Nepal Tour Operators Association. 49. The bottom line is that geopolitical differences, dissonant access and connectivity polices, and the low priority accorded to tourism between the countries made it difficult for them to cooperate to the extent intended in the RETA. Nevertheless, as noted at the 12th TWG Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the countries (excluding India) agreed that there was value in proceeding with the marketing of the subregions iconic circuits at a subregional level, and sought additional support from ADB to support the implementation of a mainly private sectorbased approach for cooperation in tourism promotion. Recommendation: In the above context, it is recommended that ADB consider taking up the request of the countries at the 12th TWG Meeting in Colombo, Sri Lanka to provide an additional round of TA to support the implementation of a private sector-based approach towards web-based marketing and institutional arrangements for cooperation in tourism promotion. 16

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