Experiential Tourism Consultant

Background

Turquoise Mountain is a non-profit, non-governmental organization specializing in heritage based urban regeneration, traditional craft-training and connecting artisans to market opportunities. We seek to provide jobs, skills, and a sense of pride, through heritage. Since 2006 Turquoise Mountain has restored 150 historic and community buildings, trained 10,000 craftspeople, generated direct sales of $7m in craft products and welcomed 1m visitors to our exhibitions worldwide.

Context

The Turquoise Mountain Institute of Design, Crafts and Economic Development proudly leads the way in embracing and reviving traditional crafts and sustaining economic growth. Committed to championing the exceptional cultural heritage of the Levant, the Institute’s ambition is to strengthen the unique cultural and creative industries. Through a comprehensive educational program, members of the Institute learn the skills needed to succeed in the crafts sector. This facilitates artisans to attain financial autonomy by launching their enterprises and actively contributing to the economy.

Supported by USAID Informal Livelihoods Advancement Activity (Iqlaa), Turquoise Mountain is set to implement a new program, focusing on sustainably strengthening and growing the businesses of Home-Based Businesses (HBBs) and Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the tourism sector through its Tourism Business Incubator in the North of Jordan.

Iqlaa Program Overview

Jordan’s micro and small enterprises (MSEs) comprise 98 percent of the country’s businesses, employ around 60 percent of the country’s private sector workforce, and contribute half of the national GDP. Home-based-businesses (HBBs) and MSEs in Jordan, including informal businesses, have been facing overlapping challenges, such as limited access to markets and business development services, as well as a burdensome regulatory environment, underdeveloped infrastructure, and limited management capacity. MSEs face strong competition within the country’s domestic market, and export markets require difficult-to-meet volumes and quality standards.

USAID Informal Livelihoods Advancement Activity (Iqlaa) is a five-year USAID-funded program that started in 2022 and aims to support HBBs and MSEs in Jordan to grow, transform, and become resilient to future challenges. Iqlaa’s approach explores new ways of doing business and improving access to finance, markets, and services. The program focuses on four sectors: agriculture, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, and services, with a special focus on technology development and implementation. Iqlaa infuses a gender, youth, and social inclusion lens throughout all interventions.

Through research and adaptive collaborative learning, Iqlaa will identify opportunities, incentives, and market constraints that facilitate or restrict formalization and growth. Based on the findings, Iqlaa will implement best practices in enterprise strengthening, inclusive job creation, and financial sector development within a market systems development (MSD) framework. Iqlaa will also leverage innovative behavioural change methodologies to facilitate long-term, sustainable changes in the MSEs ecosystem in Jordan.

The Tourism Business Incubator Project

The project aims to support and promote the growth of home-based businesses (HBBs) and micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Jordan’s tourism sector, focusing on the northern region, including Irbid, Ajloun, Jarash, and Mafraq. It targets MSEs and HBBs that offer tourism-related craft products and experiences. The Tourism Incubator aims to enhance the efficiency of these businesses, enabling them to actively compete and contribute to the tourism sector by utilizing craft, cultural, and heritage products, as well as implementing improved business practices and capabilities. The program will offer these enterprises specialized training, mentorship, and product development services to enhance their tourism offerings.

Project Objectives:

• Improve income generation for HBBs and MSEs in the tourism sector.
• Develop new innovative tourism products that both attract tourists, whilst offering reliable income streams for these businesses.
• HBBs and MSEs business performance improved – with business owners upskilled in relation to design, business planning, branding, marketing and innovation.
• Develop and strengthen linkages and partnerships between HBBs/MSEs, and the existing key tourism stakeholder.

The Terms of Reference (ToR) outline the duties and responsibilities of an experiential tourism consultant. The consultant will assist Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) and Home-Based Businesses (HBBs) in enhancing and developing experiential tourism products and experiences. The goal is to empower participants with the skills and knowledge necessary to create sustainable, competitive, and remarkable tourism offerings.

Roles and Responsibilities:

1. Develop & Deliver Training:

Mastering Experiential Tourism Training: This training aims to empower home-based businesses (HBBs) and micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Jordan’s northern region. The goal is to equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to develop and enhance tourism products and experiences that are deeply immersive, culturally enriching, and competitive in the market. The training will cover key topics with a focus on the following subjects, but not limited to:

• Understanding Experiential Tourism.
• Developing Unique Experiences.
• Sustainable and Ethical Tourism Practices.
• Integrating Cultural Heritage into Experiential Tourism.
• Enhancing Customer Experience and Service Quality.
• Digital Tools and Technology Integration.
• Building Networks and Strategic Partnerships.
• Develop instructional materials, including presentations, handouts, and digital resources.
• Create assignment templates, case studies, and practical exercises for each module.
• Ensure that training materials are adaptable to various learning styles and educational backgrounds, incorporating both theoretical and practical components.
• Conduct interactive workshops and training sessions for the targeted HBBs and MSEs.

1. Provide One-on-One Mentorship

• Deliver personalized mentorship to HBBs and MSEs, guiding them in developing and refining their experiential tourism product.
• Offer guidance on planning and operational aspects of running a successful experiential tourism enterprise.
• Assist HBBs and MSEs in identifying their unique strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis) and provide targeted advice to overcome specific challenges.

1. Monitor and Evaluate Progress

• Conduct pre and post-assessments to evaluate the progress of trainees.
• Collect and analyze data on training effectiveness and provide reports on training progress, the activities conducted, outcomes achieved, challenges faced, and recommendations for development.

Qualifications and Requirements:

• A minimum of 5-7 years of professional experience in tourism and experiential tourism development, sustainable tourism development, or a related field, with a proven track record of working with micro and small enterprises.
• Previous experience working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international development agencies, or donor-funded projects, especially USAID projects, is an advantage.
• Excellent training and facilitation skills, with demonstrated ability to conduct engaging and effective workshops and one-on-one mentorship sessions.
• Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders and teams to achieve project objectives.
• The training will be conducted in Arabic.

Contract Duration:

4 months

Location:

Northern governorates – (Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash, Mafraq)