Boosting Various Tourism-related Agencies Under USAID HICD Activity
Since USAID Human and Institutional Capacity (HICD) Activity in Georgia began in 2021, PMCG, as a subcontractor of Kaizen, has contributed readily to its implementation.
In the course of the Activity, we have supported the human and institutional capacity development of key strategic partner institutions in Georgia that play an important role in the process of strengthening the country’s self-reliance.
Notably, one such area of focus has been the tourism sector in Georgia, where we have already strengthened, or are strengthening, several state agencies integral to the tourism industry. These include the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA), the Georgian Resorts Development Agency (GRDA), and the Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara (DTRA).
The Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA)
Since November 2023, we have been working on the “Institutional Strengthening of the GNTA Through Strategic Planning” project, the objective of which is to bolster the institutional capacity of the administration via devising an organizational strategy and action plan.
Scheduled to run until May 2024, the project aims to enable GNTA’s leadership and staff to effectively implement activities leading to the accomplishment of the predefined strategic objectives and organizational performance targets, including improving the quality of tourism services, enhancing cooperation with target countries as well as international tourism and international funding institutions, and developing suitable content that will attract high-spending tourists and foster a more sustainable tourism market.
PMCG Team Leader on the project, Nino Beruashvili, outlined:
“Together with USAID, we’re working tirelessly to help the GNTA to establish a more analytical, research-oriented structure. Doing so will put the Administration in a stronger and more informed position to make Georgia more attractive to an increasing number of tourists, which will have widespread benefits for many sectors of the Georgian economy.”
Previously, PMCG contributed to the “Performance Assessment of the GNTA” between November 2022 and May 2023, focusing on the areas of planning and management of organizational activities, communication with stakeholders, human resource management, and the IT and information environment.
That elicited a number of key recommendations, such as developing a system to coordinate with GNTA donors, improving internal communication and information exchange systems, and, crucially, putting together an updated organizational strategy and action plan.
Elsewhere, PMCG is also currently involved in providing 90 hours of joint coaching sessions under the USAID HICD Center of Excellence’s (CoE) “Executive Roundtable on HR System Administration for Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) and the GNTA” project, which is due to conclude in May 2024.
The Georgian Resorts Development Agency (GRDA)
Meanwhile, in 2023, from March to December, PMCG was engaged in the “Strategic Planning and Institutional Strengthening of the Georgian Resorts Development Agency (GRDA)” project.
Ultimately, it sought to enable the GRDA to fulfil its mandate effectively, plan and adapt (where needed) its objectives and activities, and improve its internal monitoring, evaluation, and control systems.
With that in mind, PMCG helped to carefully prepare a four-year organizational strategy and corresponding two-year action plan.
In particular, the strategy set out to develop resorts, resort areas, and tourist attractions, to attract private investment, to strengthen dialogue and cooperation with the private sector, investors, and state agencies, and to pursue policy planning, legislative regulation, and enhanced institutional sustainability.
Mikheil Skhiereli, Team leader, stated:
“This strategy clarifies important directions and strategic objectives for the GRDA, with corresponding activities designed to ensure that developed resorts, resort areas, and touristic attractions in Georgia play a key role in boosting the country’s tourism sector as a whole.”
The Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara (DTRA)
Finally, turning the focus onto the DRTA, PMCG worked on the Performance Assessment in April-August 2022, leading to a number of performance solutions being drafted, such as developing an organizational strategy and action plans, the optimization of human resource management (HRM) practices, as well as standard operating procedures (SOPs) for key business processes.
Subsequently, PMCG, from December 2022 to August 2023, made key inputs to the DTRA Organizational Strategy and Action Plan, while more or less simultaneously assisting in the “Optimization of HRM Practices at the DTRA” project.
Among the outcomes for the DTRA so far under the HICD Activity are the streamlining of its organizational structure, an HRM specialist being hired, equality being achieved on various salary issues, greater delegation of tasks, and professional and personal development plans being devised on the basis of a survey.
