Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TERMS OF REFERENCE
1. BACKGROUND
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the "EBRD" or the "Bank") is
considering providing a loan facility consisting of a sovereign loan of up to EUR 60 million
to the Government of Albania (“GoA”) to finance tourism-enabling infrastructure sub-
projects in Berat, Korca, Fier and Shkoder (the “Designated Municipalities”) and general
municipal and transport infrastructure sub-projects across the country - (the "Programme" or
the “AITP”).
The Programme aims at tackling the issues hindering the tourism sector in Albania through
investments both in infrastructure and tourist related businesses and helping the GoA achieve
the objective of the National Strategy for Development and Investment to improve Albania’s
competitiveness and economic growth through high quality and sustainable tourism.
The Bank’s facility will co-finance the AITP alongside an EU investment grant of EUR 46
million that will be made available through the Instruments for Pre-Accession Assistance
(“IPA”) 2017/2018 Action Programme for Albania Competitiveness and Innovation.
Travel & Tourism is a major driver of economic growth contributing over 10 per cent to
global GDP and accounting for 1 out of every 10 jobs worldwide in 2017. In Albania, the
direct contribution of the Travel and Tourism sector to GDP was 8.5 per cent in 2017, while
its total contribution (including wider impacts, such as indirect and induced impacts) stood at
26.2 per cent of GDP. While much of Albania’s tourism is concentrated around its extensive
coastline, there are significant opportunities for the development of inland tourism. This
encompasses a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the historic centres of the
cities of Berat and Gjirokaster and the ancient city of Butrint and other cultural and natural
heritage sites including the ancient city of Apollonia, the amphitheatre of Durres, Lake
Shkoder (the largest lake in Southern Europe) and Lake Ohrid.
According to the 2017 World Economic Forum’s report on Travel & Tourism
Competitiveness, Albania’s tourism sector ranks 98 out of 136 countries, lagging
significantly behind other countries in the region (Montenegro ranks at 72, Bulgaria at 45 and
Greece at 24). Such a low ranking implies that there is significant room for improvement in
Albania’s tourism sector which can, in turn, lead to enhanced economic development,
sustainable long-term growth and competitiveness.
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sector by offering a bigger variety of attractions, activities and services all year round and
increase visitors’ spending at each destination.
Albania has an extraordinarily rich and varied culture to promote as a tourism resource.
Albania’s built heritage, however, is in need of conservation and better protection while its
intangible cultural heritage is threatened by increasingly rapid modernisation. Albania’s
natural heritage sites, including protected areas, also face similar challenges.
The EBRD is therefore looking for a Consultant (team of national and international experts)
to support the establishment of a Sector Skills Council (SSC) to guide the education policy in
the tourism and hospitality sector within the IPA Action Programme.
2. OBJECTIVE
SSC is an internationally recognised model for aligning skills supply with demand and
alleviating skills mismatches at the sectoral level. The SSC would also help to shape human
capital development policy within the sector (e.g. skills standards, occupational standards,
dual learning models, etc.) based on international best practices and in line with the
requirements of employers.
3. SCOPE OF WORK
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ETF, 2014
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4. INDICATIVE DELIVERABLES
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5. IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS
The Consultant shall report to the Associate Director at the Gender and Economic Inclusion
team and work closely with Property and Tourism and Sustainable Infrastructure teams as
well as the Associate Director for EBRD’s Tirana Resident Office (RO); and EBRD bankers
within the RO on cross-pillar initiatives, products and transactions.
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