Development of Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Destinations under Swadesh Darshan Scheme
Project Overview
Project: Development of Sustainable and Responsible Tourism Destinations under Swadesh Darshan Scheme
Location: New Delhi, India
Duration: Sep. 2018 to Jun. 2021
Client: Ministry of Tourism, Government of India
Address: Transport Bhawan, New Delhi
Brief Description of the Project
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India provides funds to States / UTs for the development of tourism infrastructure in the country under its flagship scheme – Swadesh Darshan. The program focuses on creating theme-based tourist circuits and destinations, with the goal of fostering sustainable and responsible tourism practices. The scheme places emphasis on advancing both tangible and intangible aspects, encompassing digitization, skill development, and destination management techniques. Additionally, it seeks to encourage the involvement of the private sector in the tourism industry. Through the Swadesh Darshan scheme, the government facilitates connectivity and enables infrastructure development, while private sector engagement plays a pivotal role in the development of core tourism products.
Services Provided
A Program Management team consisting of 10-members was established to deliver the following scope of services –
- Transformation of scheme guidelines into a 2.0 version to lay larger emphasis on destination development using sustainable and responsible practices.
- Preparation of a Detailed Perspective Plan for tourism sub-sectors covering significant destinations of importance.
- Identification of 55 new Destinations to be developed under SD 2.0
- Preparation of toolkits for Project Concepts, Master Plans, DPRs, and Standard Operating Procedures for various processes in the implementation of the scheme.
- Support the Mission Directorate by preparing the model RFPs/ EOIs/ Agreements and other necessary assistance for the selection of agencies, monitoring and evaluation, etc.
- Appraisal of Project Concept and Detailed Project Reports prepared by the States/ UTs.
- Program management support to monitor various aspects of the scheme such as preparation of DPP, identification of themes/ products/ circuits, sanctioning of the project, disbursement of the funds, progress of works, project closure, and all other aspects of the scheme.
- Assist in the conduct of meetings of various bodies such as the Mission Directorate, Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) and National Steering Committee.
- Tracking the progress of various projects undertaken in the scheme through a centralized MIS system. Assist in the selection of vendors for designing, developing, and maintaining an online MIS system for tracking project implementation, project variations, and generating reports for monitoring.
- Assist in monitoring O&M plans and opportunities for the private sector and PPP in the identified circuits and destinations. Facilitate framing guidelines, model documents, and transaction advisory services.
- Provide capacity-building support through workshops, visits, and training programs to enable IEC initiatives including social media presence, portal development, mobile applications, MIS Dashboard etc.
- Preparation of framework for undertaking Impact Assessment of projects and measuring impact created on Tourist footfall, Employment generation, Private Investments, and livelihood creation.
- Involved in the creation of a best practices manual capturing benchmarks for various components, specifications and guidelines for tourism projects.