RFI-114-23-00004 - South Caucasus Regional Tourism Program.pdf

SUBJECT: Request for Information RFI-114-23-00004 – South Caucasus Regional Tourism Program

ISSUANCE DATE: March 2, 2023

RESPONSE DEADLINE: 1000 hrs Tbilisi Time (UTC+4) March 24, 2023

TO: General Public

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is seeking comments and responses from interested parties to questions regarding a potential new regional activity as described in the following pages. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to conduct market research, determine the interest of capable organizations to provide USAID/Caucasus with technical and advisory services, and request comments and recommendations to identify ways to address regional tourism management in the South Caucasus over the next 3 years. The Mission also seeks feedback on its approach to better shape the planned USAID South Caucasus Regional Tourism Program (see Attachment 1 – Draft Statement of Objectives (SOO)) and on the questions found in Attachment 2.

In considering any research related to this procurement, please keep in mind that Nagorno Karabakh has been and remains a highly sensitive subject in Armenia and Azerbaijan. The renewed conflict in 2020, discussions since then between the two countries, continued border attacks, and the closure of the Lachin corridor have increased the sensitivity of discussions of normalization, cooperation, or reconciliation between the two countries. USAID has a broad and long-term goal of a South Caucasus region that is stable and at peace and this planned program reflects USAID’s interest in this goal. Given the sensitive nature of these issues in the South Caucasus, we encourage interested organizations to take a conflict-sensitive approach to any research, particularly in-country, that they choose to do in response to this RFI.

This is an RFI, not a Solicitation or Request for Proposals. It is not a commitment by the US Government to issue any solicitation or ultimately make an award nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in the preparation or submission of any comments. Any funding proposals submitted in response to this request will not be considered. Responses to this notice must be received no later than the due date and time stated above in this notice. All materials submitted will become the property of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and will not be returned. USAID reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for USAID’s own purposes. While it is not the intention to make public any response to this RFI, proprietary and sensitive information should not be sent.

Further note that responding to this RFI will not give any advantage to any organization in any subsequent procurement.

Sincerely, Samuel Kraegel Contracting Officer, USAID/Caucasus

Response Considerations

All responses to this notice must be in English and should include the following:

1. Cover page not to exceed one (1) page including:

a. Organization name and address;

b. Point of contact name, telephone number and e-mail address;

c. Organization Business type and status – US-based, International, Local (please specify country);

For-Profit/Not-For-Profit; Small, Medium, Large; etc.

2. Responses to Questions/other comments and suggestions (no page limit)

Organizations are invited to respond to any/all questions listed in “Attachment 2 - Questions” and provide any other comments or suggestions they may have pertaining to the information included in this notice.

Additional Notes/ Instructions

Responses to this RFI must be provided in Word or PDF format via email to: TbilisiRCO@usaid.gov no later than the time and date indicated in the cover letter above.

mailto:TbilisiRCO@usaid.gov

Attachment 1 - DRAFT STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES

PURPOSE

The purpose of the USAID/Caucasus Regional Tourism Program is to build durable regional cooperation among Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, based on market drivers and shared economic interests in the tourism sector, thereby contributing to cohesion and peace in the South Caucasus.

BACKGROUND AND PROBLEM

The November 2020 conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the subsequent ceasefire has led to a significant shift in the geopolitical environment in the South Caucasus. This shift presents an opportunity to contribute to durable peace and regional stability by enabling regional cooperation based on market drivers and incentives around regional tourism. Since the ceasefire, Armenia and Azerbaijan have entered into talks on border demarcation and delimitation. Despite the September 2022 events that escalated the tension between the two countries and the current Lachin Corridor situation, prospects for cooperation are considered possible.

Tourism is an important part of the economy for the countries of the South Caucasus, therefore a viable entry point from which to build regional collaboration, cooperation, and peacebuilding. It has the potential to improve the livelihoods of rural, urban and peri-urban communities across multiple economic strata. In 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism constituted a significant portion of GDP for Georgia (26%), Armenia (14.1%), and Azerbaijan (7%). However, all three countries suffered severe impacts from the pandemic with tourism falling significantly from 2019 to 2020 by 72.1% in Georgia, by 75.1% in Armenia, and by 67.1% in Azerbaijan. While a post-COVID recovery is underway, recovery to the 2019 levels is at least several years away.

Despite the impacts of COVID-19, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, all three countries continue to pursue recovery and growth for their tourism sectors in line with global tourism trends and best practices. For example, the countries are continuing to increase experiential tourism, developing tourism circuits and routes around destinations, diversifying source markets, and looking at new tourism segments in order to promote longer stays in a wider array of cities and locales and increase tourism spending to broaden economic benefits. There are market-driven opportunities for regional tourism that remain to be explored by stakeholders in three countries in order to attract travelers in various tourism segments.

Challenges to achieving regional tourism growth persist for the countries of the South Caucasus. These include but are not limited to: legal-regulatory issues such as non-existent or inconsistent standards (health, safety, quality), and differences in visa regimes; limited transportation linkages between the countries; inconsistent quality and price of tourism products and services; and the perceived tension between cooperation vs. competition within the context of decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. These and other factors remain to be explored and validated with stakeholders of the three countries to remove impediments to the development of regional tourism.

Efforts to promote tourism cooperation in the South Caucasus and broader region have included the Black Sea Silk Road Corridor, regional package tours, engagement between destination management organizations (DMOs) and even attempts at regional branding (Diamonds of the Caucasus). These efforts have demonstrated that economic interests based on market drivers can provide incentives for cross-border cooperation. However, tourism related initiatives have been ad hoc, sporadic.

While there is some bilateral cooperation between Georgia and the other two South Caucasus countries, the three countries do not engage in trilateral cooperation, and communication between Armenia and Azerbaijan on tourism is nonexistent. Limited and infrequent communication between governments, business associations, tourism operators, the broader private sector, and other stakeholders impedes collaboration and cooperation as well as the ability of stakeholders in the three countries to identify shared interests, challenges and opportunities, prioritize areas of cooperation, propose solutions, and jointly take action. This reinforces low understanding and awareness of the economic benefits of regional cooperation on tourism and hinders cohesion between the three countries.

All three South Caucasus missions pursue tourism development efforts under respective bilateral portfolios. The Regional South Caucasus Tourism Program is intended to serve as a catalyst that complements and elevates the efforts on the bilateral programming The success of the regional effort is therefore contingent upon strong collaboration and coordination with the respective bilateral programs, particularly when trying to address transboundary challenges and harmonization of critical policies that affect the tourism sector. The Regional program is expected to work in sub-sectors already prioritized by the bilateral missions as the Regional South Caucasus program should not be in competition with those bilateral activities, but additive. Therefore, the Offeror must consider all relevant current and past projects carried out in all three countries by USAID and other development partners/donor organizations as well as appropriate host country strategies and priorities that could serve to inform and facilitate this new activity.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED RESULTS

In order to achieve its purpose, this program is expected to address two objectives described belowThe Offeror must propose a set of indicators and targets measuring the results listed below.

The Contractor will be expected to support stakeholders in each focus country, including but not limited to: national tourism agencies, tourism associations, destination management organizations (DMOs), tour operators, and other private sector players including food and beverage, transportation, and other hospitality firms in an effort to build regional cohesion.

Purpose: Build durable regional cooperation among Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, based on market drivers and shared economic interests in the tourism sector, thereby contributing to cohesion and peace in the South Caucasus.

Objective 1: Consistent engagement among a broad range of tourism-related stakeholders in the South Caucasus fostered.

Result 1.1: Process(es) built by which a broad range of stakeholders interact on a regular basis to discuss opportunities and mitigate challenges to regional tourism.

Result 1.2: Stakeholder consensus reached around regional tourism opportunities and challenges.

Objective 2: Tangible economic benefits realized from regional tourism development initiatives.

Result 2.1: A pipeline of market-driven solutions and/or viable business ideas developed and vetted by relevant stakeholders in the South Caucasus.

Result 2.2: Market-driven joint initiatives undertaken by stakeholders to expand and facilitate regional tourism.

Result 2.3: Additional public and/or private resources mobilized to implement solutions and/or viable business ideas.

GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT

The Contractor will be authorized to use Grants Under Contract (GUCs) to issue grants to non-governmental partners to support the activities under the relevant components of the Activity.

The Contractor will function in a project management role and provide grants to non-governmental organizations, private sector entities such as tour operators, hospitality firms and food and beverage transportation companies, business associations, communities, and other non-public stakeholders in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

The base value of GUCs awarded under this activity is envisioned to be $900,000, with an average grant size of $50,000. Grants made under this contract will be made to carry out activities that are consistent with the objectives in the SOO. All of the grants are expected to be issued to local entities in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, and grants are expected to be able to show a tangible linkage to regional tourism. In view of the range of potential grantees and the activities to be supported under the South Caucasus Regional Tourism Program, the Contractor must be capable of designing and managing a variety of grant award options that will help achieve the above-mentioned activity objectives.

OPTION TO EXPAND GRANTS UNDER CONTRACT

If additional funding comes available and new windows of opportunities emerge for regional cooperation, USAID may expand the envisioned Grants under Contract component of this award. This expansion would be done through a priced option but is not anticipated to include an extension to the period of performance. Additional funding may be used to support Objective 2 activities, such as the implementation of market-driven initiatives and/or pipeline of business ideas jointly developed by stakeholders.

SUSTAINABILITY CONSIDERATIONS

Sustainability of results is a critical aspect in defining the overall success of the Activity, and often one of the most difficult goals to achieve. Sustainability of results should be considered at all stages of implementation and inform the local partnerships developed with the private sector and civil society, engagement with the governments, and interventions conceived.

CROSS-CUTTING APPROACHES

The following operational guidance will be crucial for the successful and sustainable implementation of this activity and should be applied to all services and deliverables specified in the award. These priorities and guidance relate to: a) Thinking and working politically; b) P2P/Reconciliation/Do No Harm; c) Private

Sector Engagement; d) Positive Youth Development; e) Gender Equity and Social Inclusion; f) Diverse Partnerships/Consortium and Leveraging Local Expertise; g) Public Outreach and Communications; h) Local Ownership; i) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA); and j) Climate Change.

a) Thinking and Working Politically

Offerors must demonstrate an understanding of underlying historical factors, formal and informal ‘rules of the game,’ relationships, conflict dynamics, gender dynamics, youth and vulnerable population’s dynamics, environmental considerations, power structures and incentives. Offerors must plan to periodically conduct an Applied Political Economy Analysis (PEA) around regional tourism issues, keep abreast of the political will at different levels to implement reforms and activities, implement thinking/working politically (TWP) activities, and propose Activity adaptations as required.

Offerors must describe their TWP/PEA approach for mapping and tracking political commitment to regional South Caucasus tourism development, including identifying indicators and associate “trigger values” that might signal changes in assumptions and/or the need to reorient the Activity. Offerors should consult USAID’s Thinking and Working Politically through Applied Political Economy Analysis when developing their proposed approach.

b) P2P / Reconciliation Considerations / Do No Harm

The activity should incorporate a people-to-people approach by bringing together representatives of conflict-affected sides to interact purposefully in a safe space. It should address divisions and patterns of prejudice that hinder development of mutually beneficial relationships between conflict-divided countries and communities. It should create opportunities for a series of interactions between groups to promote mutual understanding, trust, empathy, resilient social ties, and regional cohesion.

At the same time, proposed activities must reflect thoughtful consideration of any risks that may result by bringing together conflicting parties and provide sufficient explanation of risk mitigation measures, including appropriate safeguards to avoid exacerbating conflict.

c) Private Sector Engagement

The private sector is a key actor in the success and sustainability of this Activity. The Activity will proactively engage with the private sector, understanding USAID’s Private Sector Engagement (PSE) policy. In line with the PSE Policy, this Activity will be informed by market-drivers and help shape market-based solutions to achieve sustained impact that advance strategic priorities, namely South Caucasus economic collaboration, and can carry forward long after USAID’s support has ended. The private sector will be an important part of implementation. Based on the PSE Policy, the Activity will embrace market-based solutions, consider core business interests, and consistently leverage private sector assets including, but not limited to expertise, resources and investment. There will be an intentional effort to form long-term public-private partnerships. The private sector across all three countries is considered the key partner and driver for growing the regional tourism market.

d) Youth Engagement

Youth in the South Caucasus contain both immense potential for positive change in interethnic relations, while also not having had the experience of a more peaceful interethnic coexistence during the Soviet https://www.usaid.gov/documents/1866/thinking-and-working-politically-through-applied-political-economy-analysis period. The Contractor must adopt an approach which engages youth in activity interventions.

Interventions are expected to encourage youth leadership with an intentional focus on developing competencies and behaviors that support a constructive role for youth in peacebuilding and in regional tourism.

e) Gender Equality and Social Inclusion

This Activity’s consideration of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment is in line with the National Security Strategy (NSS), which states that the United States “will support efforts to advance women’s equality, protect the rights of women and girls, and promote women and youth empowerment programs.” The NSS clearly identifies women’s equality and empowerment worldwide as both American values and foreign-policy priorities, noting that, “governments that fail to treat women equally do not allow their societies to reach their potential.” Further, the Joint Strategic Plan of the U.S. Department of State and USAID for FY 2018-2022 recognizes, “societies that empower women to participate fully in civic and economic life are more prosperous and peaceful.”

Gender equality, women empowerment, and social inclusion are essential for achieving USAID’s development goals across the South Caucasus region. The USAID Gender Equality and Female Empowerment Policy advances equality between men and women, and empowers women and girls to participate fully in and benefit from development, through the application of a gender-lens throughout the entire project cycle, from project design and implementation to monitoring and evaluation.

Per USAID’s Policy, implementing partners are required to develop a gender and social inclusion strategy to accompany and complement the first annual work plan to ensure the integration of gender and social inclusion considerations into the work plan, the MEL Plan, and for reporting on how the project benefited men and women.

In anticipation of this, the approach should demonstrate an approach to gender and social inclusion, including detailing the way in which the Activity will: (1) meaningfully increase the overall participation of and leadership by women and other marginalized groups in the growing tourism sector; (2) ensure increased participation of women in program implementation; and (3) measure the effects of the results on women and other marginalized groups. The approach must also detail the way in which the Activity will ensure that women and other identified vulnerable populations are included in Activity staff and among target groups in as representative a manner as possible. The Offeror should consider the varying, and at times, unique needs of women and men when proposing approaches that provide safe spaces for people-to-people engagement.

There is evidence that women’s participation in peace negotiations increase the likelihood of success and lasting stability. The offeror must therefore: a) identify areas for additional research regarding gender imbalances; b) identify how cross-country differences in gender gaps may potentially impact the participation of women in transboundary cooperation; c) support strategies that maximize the role of women as interlocutors in regional tourism cooperation; d) identify and address the varying needs and perceptions of female and male beneficiaries; e) explicitly integrate gender into new laws, policies, and regulations, if supported by the program; f) establish supportive grounds of women’s participation in decision-making processes; g) promote women’s economic empowerment; and h) measure equitable or increased participation of women in all program activities, ensuring that integration efforts grounded in robust and gender-sensitive approaches lead to sustainable and long-lasting development outcomes.

https://www.usaid.gov/policy/gender-female-empowerment https://www.usaid.gov/policy/gender-female-empowerment

f) Diverse Partnerships/Consortium and Leveraging Local Expertise

Growing and expanding the regional South Caucasus tourism sector will require a multitude of stakeholders representing various sectors under the tourism development umbrella, including ancillary stakeholders. Therefore it is necessary to ensure the approach is locally-led, emphasizes business to business linkages, and strengthens the South Caucasus network of local actors, such as NTB, national tourism agencies, destination management organizations (DMOs), tourism operators, and other non-governmental organizations and private sector firms related to hospitality and tourism.

g) Public Outreach and Communications

The Contractor must develop and implement a robust communication and public outreach strategy to engage potential stakeholders, publicize and emphasize the benefits of regional cooperation, and highlight successful examples of regional cooperation in the tourism sector, both at national and people-to-people levels. The strategy will be designed to shift attitudes and behaviors in favor of peacebuilding and reconciliation goals. To this end, the Contractor may partner with media outlets to implement the targeted campaigns and facilitate information exchange through various functioning and sustainable platforms. Public outreach strategy and communication materials require COR approval.

Further, all outreach efforts must be coordinated with, and should leverage USAID public outreach programs through the COR in collaboration with USAID Development Outreach Communication Specialists in three countries.

h) Local Ownership

In keeping with the Agency’s vision for localization, the Contractor will identify and draw on specific opportunities to build or strengthen local systems, capitalize on locally led initiatives, and foster cross-border partnership models based on local buy-in and ownership. To the extent possible, the Contractor will use local resources and expertise to advance the goals of the program. The Contractor will also identify and address identified capacity gaps limiting the participation of local entities in the program activities.

i) Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA)

The program seeks to advance USAID’s DEIA vision and priorities. The Contractor will explore opportunities for improving diversity throughout the program cycle; enhancing inclusion and equity for everyone in the workplace; and engaging with individuals, communities, and organizations traditionally excluded from mainstream economic activities due to their identity, social status, ethnicity, gender, race, age, and other factors. Where possible, the Contractor will focus on the communities and individuals suffering from compound discrimination (i.e. discrimination occurring on two or more grounds at the same time, e.g., ethnicity and sex). The Contractor will offer a robust analysis of factors thwarting inclusion efforts and propose effective approaches to removing identified barriers through engagement, partnerships, and coordination.

j) Climate Change

The Biden Administration has set substantial, ambitious targets for reductions in climate-impacting emissions, targeting a 50 percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution in 2030, and a net zero carbon economy by 2050. Investments made under this activity are expected to comply with the spirit of these commitments, and, where possible and appropriate, support the development of a cleaner, greener economy. The Contractor will integrate best practices and approaches from USAID’s new Climate Change Strategy across both objectives. Where possible, interventions should be proposed and designed in a way that accelerates and scales targeted climate actions, thereby contributing to SO 1 of the USAID Climate Change Strategy 2022 -2030. Approaches may focus on reducing emissions through the use of clean technologies, building resilience to climate impacts, and/or mobilizing financing to support adaptation and mitigation measures.

ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT

The program’s strategic approach prioritizes contextual awareness and flexible, adaptive management. In light of the program’s regional nature, the program’s approach to adaptive management will utilize collaborative planning and decision making between the three missions. This will enable the program to continuously analyze operational context and capitalize on emerging windows of opportunity, which may affect the objectives and interventions carried out to meet the overall purpose and rationale of this award. Applied political economy analyses, and other research and analysis of context, implementation progress, and outcomes will contribute to the adaptive management approach and inform the decision making process.

A steering committee, comprised of USAID staff from each Mission as well representatives of the Contractor and appropriate sub-contractors, will be established as the platform through which regular pause and reflect sessions will be organized by the Contractor to review and discuss the findings of relevant analyses and research, revalidate assumptions and approaches outlined in the proposal to ensure its relevance and effectiveness to achieving the purpose and rationale of this award. This may include re-evaluating completeness of objectives and interventions identified including reassessing the tourism sectors considered to lend themselves to sustained, cross-boundary engagement.

A more complete understanding of the regional operating environment is critical not only for identifying windows of opportunity, but also for monitoring shifts in the local context that can help assess whether the program is creating, or increasing, risk for those involved. In line with Do No Harm principles, the Steering Committee will reorient activities to mitigate risks and avoid harm to individuals and organizations as the implementing context changes. Where necessary, the work plan can be changed to rebalance its effort between objectives, address a more indirect approach, or choose to focus on a more narrow aspect of an activity, whichever is more feasible at that time. Moreover, it may be necessary to reevaluate objectives, should the political environment shift significantly either creating broader windows of opportunity or contracting it, making planned objectives obsolete. Given the uncertainties on the ground, flexibility and adaptability to take advantage of emerging opportunities is key to achieving results.

Attachment 2 - Questions

USAID seeks input, comments, and recommendations for the questions below. Interested organizations may respond to any or all of the following and/or provide any additional feedback on the draft SOO they consider useful for USAID’s consideration. This is not a formal question period and USAID will not provide responses. The USAID design team will review all comments and questions and may use them in the process of finalizing the SOO and the Solicitation for the South Caucasus Regional Tourism Program.

1) Are USAID’s assumptions upon which this statement of objectives is based, for example, the windows of opportunity for collaboration, cooperation, and partnership, valid for all three countries, particularly Armenia and Azerbaijan? What other factors/assumptions should be considered that may either foster success or create challenges?

2) To what extent is it reasonable to assume that supporting regional tourism could contribute towards greater cohesion and peace between the three countries?

3) Are the proposed list of objectives sufficiently comprehensive to achieve the stated purpose? Is something missing that should be considered given the potential limitation of a $6 million budget over three years.

4) In consideration of the budget constraints for this activity, is there a management structure that is most realistic and effective? What are the benefits and risks of different management approaches?

5) What are the potential risks to achieving the desired outcomes outlined? What types of risks could be mitigated and what types could not?

6) What other factors should USAID consider in the design or implementation of this activity that have not been explicitly mentioned?