Assisting the state of Mizoram in developing an Inclusive Tourism Development Strategy
- Client: World Bank
- Partners: Mizoram Department of Tourism
- Project Duration: May - November 2017
Project Description
Home to nearly two million residents, many of whom remain cut off from the rest of the world, the largely inaccessible and often overlooked state of Mizoram is located between the expansive Himalayan foothills and the plateau of Meghalaya in the far north-eastern corner of India. With its fascinating Mizo culture, dramatic landscapes, pleasant climate and rich biodiversity, the development of tourism in this region holds great potential for income generation and job creation for local residents. The goal of this project was to assist the State of Mizoram in India in developing an Inclusive Tourism Development Strategy with a focus on providing economic opportunities for the region and its residents, celebrating local culture, conserving natural and cultural assets, and enhancing the well being of residents. The strategy aimed to expand upon the existing experiential tourism offered in Mizoram, providing vacations and activities that offer immersive experiences connecting visitors to the people, places, and culture of the destination they are visiting. Travelers who feel they are getting authentic and immersive experiences are willing to spend more, stay longer, and visit again.
Major Activities
- Deep Dive Planning: Gain an understanding of the tourism context, the government’s goals, key challenges, priority issues in the region, and the status of existing infrastructure through desk research and working with a local Indian firm to assist with collecting tourism plans and statistical data.
- Destination Assessment and Stakeholder Interviews: Travel to Mizoram to conduct on-the-ground research including a series of in-person meetings with public and private sector tourism representatives to gather their input on tourism supply and demand—as well as plans, policies and current activities in the country.
- Develop Strategy for Sustainable Tourism Development: Outline a strategy which will lay out the vision for the future development of Mizoram tourism; prioritize action plans that have broad based support, prepare detailed timelines, roles and responsibilities, and budgets for action plan implementation, and provide recommendations for sourcing the required funding for strategy implementation.
Results
- Inclusive Tourism Development Strategy
