BRIEF ON TOURISM EXPERIENCE

Tourism has emerged as a powerful force multiplier for economic development. As the world’s fastest growing industry, tourism contributes an estimated 9.8% to the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) generating 8.7% of the total employment. As per estimates of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the travel and tourism industry is among the world’s largest with a global economic contribution (direct, indirect and induced) of over 7.6 trillion U.S. dollars in 2016.

iDeCK’s experience in tourism covers the entire spectrum – from developing regulatory frameworks for the Government to project/programme management

  • Regulatory Framework – Policies, Acts, Strategies, Road Maps & Tourism Master Plans
  • Destinations, Circuits and Visitor Experience Enhancement
  • Business Plans
  • Transaction Advisory
  • Programme Management

Our team works closely with clients to help merge these disparate tasks into a coherent, focused programme.
Few other core sectors are driven by, and demand, a synergic confluence of many stakeholders like tourism – consisting of tourists and their needs, Government policies, physical infrastructure and services and marketing and promotion programmes.

Visitor experience could be further classified based on the following development activities in any tourist destination:

Understanding of the visitor expectation in terms of experience leads to project conceptualisation, development and implementation

Experience in Tourism Sector

iDeCK has successfully completed over 100 assignments in the tourism sector including some of India’s most prestigious projects. Today we are a preferred consultant in that space. Our key accomplishments could be summarized as follows:

Assistance in Developing Regulatory Framework

Assistance provided to the Government of Karnataka in the preparation of a comprehensive tourism policy and guidelines, aimed at developing the state as a dynamic and favoured tourism destination.

Assistance in the development of Tourism Facilitation Act and rules for Karnataka, a unique act in the Indian context that lays down a framework for empowering the Department of Tourism to establish a regulatory mechanism and streamline the on-ground implementation of tourism products and services.

Development and implementation of a Water Sports Policy for Andhra Pradesh. The activity involved identification of ideal locations through expert visits, consultations with stakeholders, assessment of possible water sports activities at shortlisted locations and an infrastructure gap assessment in terms of connectivity, basic infrastructure facilities, services and support infrastructure required to make it viable and attractive for operators and tourists.

Development of a roadmap for tourism for Jharkhand including setting up of short term, medium term and long term goals. The effort involved a plan to develop tourism infrastructure, motivate, and incentivise players from various segments of the society encouraging them to play a role in growing the sector. The road map also included initiatives to improve the visitor experience by providing better access to information, offering a greater choice of destinations, and creating a safe and hassle-free environment overall.

Creation of a report, “Socio Economic Impact of Tourism”, which resulted in a budget allocation of INR 4.72 billion for the development of tourism in Karnataka for FY 2017-18.

Development of a Tourism Master Plan for Bellary district, Karnataka. This involved a detailed gap assessment of tourist infrastructure and visitor profiling to develop innovative tourism products. The destinations were also ranked as part of a plan to determine the tourism road map for the district for the next 20 years.

Circuits and Destination Development Projects

  • Circuit Development

iDeCK has been assisting various State Governments in developing tourism circuits through central assistance schemes such as Swadesh Darshan & PRASAD. Our approach to circuits and destination development is driven creating compelling tourist experiences. We have worked on the following circuit development projects:

Creation of a detailed project report for an ecotourism circuit in Jharkhand which has resulted in a grant of INR 528 million for the state under Swadesh Darshan scheme, Ministry of Tourism, GoI.

Preparation of a detailed perspective pIan to develop the coastal circuit in Karnataka, which resulted in a grant of INR 990 million for the state under Swadesh Darshan scheme, Ministry of Tourism, GoI.

Preparation of a detailed project report for the development of Deoghar temple in Jharkhand, which has resulted in a grant of INR 400 million under PRASAD scheme.

Preparation of a detailed perspective pIan to develop the Jain, Buddhist and Heritage circuit in Karnataka under the “Swadesh Darshan” scheme, Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

Preparation of a detailed project report to develop the Birsa Munda Smriti Park involving the development of a tribal museum by reusing a old jail which resulted in a grants of INR 300 million from Ministry of Tribal Welfare, GoI.

Preparation of a detailed project report to develop the spiritual, tribal, and rural circuit for the state of Jharkhand and Ramayana circuit for the state of Karnataka.

Preparing a detailed project report for the development of Basukinath Temple, Phase II, under PRASAD scheme.

  • Destination Development

Our approach to destination development is to configure any tourist destination as a mix of tourist experiences, supported by the creation of sustainable physical infrastructure. The features involved include: