Open Call: Short-term national consultant for integration of local food production and handicrafts in the tourism value chain
HELVETAS Intercooperation GmbH in the Kyrgyz Republic is seeking a short-term national consultant for integration of local food production and handicrafts in the tourism value chain.
The specific areas of focus shall be (1) identification of USPs for food and handicrafts; and (2) product development, positioning and marketing.
Background
While the term “sustainable tourism” is still not widely known and used in the region, terms such as “nature tourism”, “responsible tourism”, and “green tourism” are increasingly being used, indicating the growing awareness of the need to switch to tourism models that will have less negative impacts on the environment, natural resources and local communities’ livelihoods.
With this project, funded by the European Union's SWITCH-Asia program, Helvetas, together with our partners Stichting European Centre for Ecological and Agricultural Tourism – Netherlands (ECEAT), the Kyrgyz Association of Tour Operators (KATO) and the Kyrgyz Community Based Tourism Association Hospitality Kyrgyzstan (KCBTA), responds to the objectives of the Kyrgyz government to advance a more sustainable tourism, involving communities, and diversifying tourism products in order to attract new target groups and clients.
Among other efforts, Greentour aims at integrating local food production and handicrafts in the tourism value chain, as well as at promoting carbon-neutral and sustainable packages which could add to positioning Kyrgyzstan as a destination committed to sustainable tourism development.