The purpose of the USAID Economic Resilience Activity is to improve the overall economic resilience of eastern Ukraine. Resilience is “the ability of people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth.” This activity aims to improve the economic resilience of eastern Ukraine through accomplishing the following objectives:

• Inclusion: building the capabilities of vulnerable populations to capitalize on entrepreneurial and MSME economic opportunities;
• Growth: helping micro, small and medium businesses innovate, invest, and expand markets; and
• Transformation: working with coalitions and leaders to articulate a vision for the future and put in place a modern, diverse, SME-friendly economy.

By accomplishing these objectives, the economy of eastern Ukraine will be more diversified, more integrated with the rest of Ukraine, less dependent on Russia, and the region’s residents will be better equipped to compete for the jobs of the future, thereby improving the economic resilience of the region.  The activity will work primarily in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblast—together known as the “Donbas” region—but will also be active in the surrounding oblasts and throughout Ukraine as required to achieve the objectives.

OBJECTIVES

This consultancy lies within the ERA’s four-pronged program aimed at supporting the tourism industry of the Azov Sea region through tourism product development; destination improvement; destination marketing; and promotion of partnerships in tourism industry.

The main objective of the consultancy is to assist ERA in creating an effective network of tourist information centers (TIC) in the Sea of Azov region. The TIC network will be used by tourists, the local authorities, regional stakeholders and communities for improving tourism infrastructure and product, coordination of the regional tourism industry’ activities, brand and tourism portal management, and for promoting the Azov Sea region as an attractive tourist destination. The TIC is an important tool of the tourist infrastructure, with the help of which tourists and other tourism entities have the opportunity to receive complete tourist information and advisory services on tourism activities in the area and beyond. It is assumed that after the creation of the TICs in Berdyansk, Melitopol, Kyrylivka and Henichesk, they, together with the existing Centers in Mariupol and Arabatska Strilka spit, will be merged into a single coordinating tourist center of the Sea of Azov region.

PERFORMANCE TASKS AND REQUIREMENTS

In collaboration with the ERA Tourism Sector Lead and ERA tourism sector specialists, the Consultant shall:

1. Organize the work on collecting data about the TIC(-s) in following cities: Berdyansk, Henichesk, Kyrylivka and Melitopol.

2. Process the received data and organize the information in a unified Excel database. This will contain information on TIC’s managing authority, contact persons, possible location, number and form of the TIC offices, budgeting, list of services.

3. Develop a concept of the Sea of Azov TIC Network development which should include both existing TICs (Mariupol and Arabatska Strilka) and those that will be created thanks to the support of the ERA. The region needs a tourism industry that it is more dynamic and resilient that to leads to long-term success. The consultant will provide a concept of the Sea of Azov region TIC Network’s activity which will also form the basis of the Azov Sea Region 2030: Roadmap for Tourism Development.

4. In coordination with the ERA Tourism Lead, identify the key tourism stakeholders in Berdyansk, Henichesk, Kyrylivka, Mariupol and Melitopol that shall participate in the pitch and demo event. The Tourism Lead shall approve the list of participants.

5. Conduct and moderate an online pitch and demo event presenting the concept to at least 100 key tourism stakeholders located in the Sea of Azov region. The consultant shall develop a PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the key information from the concept of the Sea of Azov TIC Network development. The consultant must share the draft PowerPoint and obtain approval from the Tourism Sector Lead prior to the event.

The Consultant shall coordinate closely with the ERA communication team to ensure that the correct branding and marking are utilized during the consultancy. The Consultant shall obtain the ERA’s writing approval in case of using the logos, banners, and other visibility items during the activities.

The Consultant shall provide the ERA Tourism Sector Lead with the copies of all the materials used/created during the online events, as well as with the copies of the participants’/moderators’ questionnaires, research findings, and other relevant materials produced during the consultancy.

The Consultant must have experience in creating and managing at least one Tourist Information Center in Ukraine or abroad.

Application process

All applicants must send a cover letter and updated CV (no longer than four pages) in English to [email protected] , please mention in the subject Finance Officer.

 Closing date for applications: March 31, 2021