Local and Regional Competitiveness Project

closed

The objective of the Local and Regional Competitiveness Project (LRCP) for Macedonia is to enhance the contribution of tourism to local economic development and improve the capacity of the government and public entities to foster tourism growth and facilitate destination management. There are four components to the project, the first component being technical assistance for tourism development. This component will improve the capacity of institutions and business environment in support of tourism development at the national level, through advisory services, analytical assistance, and policy advice. Areas of focus are derived directly from diagnostic work that highlights key challenges. The second component is the strengthening destination management and enabling environment. This component will support implementation of activities to enhance tourism development at the central government level and at the destination level. The third component is the in tourism-related infrastructure and linkages at destinations. This component will support key investments that will make an impact on increasing the attractiveness of the selected destinations through upgraded product offerings and linkages with local economies to capture a greater share of economic benefits. The component will provide funds for investment in infrastructure and non-infrastructure activities (training, publications, upgrading of supplier capabilities, etc.) in the destinations participating in LRCP. Finally, the fourth component is the strengthening project management. This component will support the capacity of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) to ensure that all recipient executed activities under LRCP are effectively implemented. It will finance technical expertise (consultants), training, equipment, operating costs, and equipment associated with implementation, monitoring and evaluation of project activities.