Tourism specialists at Queen Margaret University have secured a Scottish Government grant to establish a co-operative tourism development in rural India. The project aims to use Scottish expertise to deliver sustainable economic development in some of the most socially and economically disadvantaged communities in rural India. Funded by the Scottish Government's International Development Fund, Queen Margaret University, the lead partner in this destination management project, will work in partnership with Dunira, the Edinburgh based tourism consultancy. The partnership aims to help communities in rural parts of India embrace the concept of destination management and marketing, thereby encouraging tourists to visit developing areas rather than continually gravitating to the better known larger 'honeypot' cities and resorts. The project will help equip local communities to realise the potential value of their natural and cultural heritage and encourage them to use a cooperative destination management organisation model to regenerate their communities and develop their marketing.
QMU's Professor Andy Frew, a world expert in eTourism believes that the University and the Edinburgh consultancy are well equipped to deliver this challenging project. He said: "QMU's substantial expertise in international tourism and commitment to social enterprise projects, coupled with Dunira's expertise of establishing destination management systems in developing countries, ensures that the Scottish partnership is ideally suited to such an important and complex project.
Professor Frew explained more about the project: "If India is going to properly develop as a major tourism destination, it needs to embrace destination marketing and encourage tourists to travel to different rural settings. All too often, visitors to the country only experience the better known tourist areas and many rural communities just don't feature on the tourist trail." Professor Frew continued: "The School's research focuses on creating sustainable business models. The concept behind this project will help to create a more sustainable future for India's tourism, by spreading the economic benefits across the country and by encouraging rural agricultural economies to develop destination management organisations which will benefit their communities. This won't be something that is achieved overnight, but it's about building expertise for the future and exchanging skills. The Scottish partnership will also be working with YES BANK who will act as 'Country Manager' responsible for the delivery of the project in India. YES BANK, through its Strategic Initiatives & Government Advisory (SIGA) Division, has been very active in several developmental initiatives across India, bringing together various stakeholders including the Government. Tourism has been one of the focus sectors for YES BANK. As Country Manager, YES BANK will advise on home country dynamics, networks, introductions, project activities and logistics in the field. YES BANK will work in partnership with QMU and Dunira to showcase the project outcomes, and then work towards exploring and identifying opportunities for replicating this as a mass-development model elsewhere in India and internationally, including taking this to the Government of India for its consideration as a part of policy.