[{"bbox": [225, 151, 368, 311], "category": "Text", "text": "SMEs from\naccessing\ncommercial\nfinance as they\nmove beyond\ngrants"}, {"bbox": [793, 151, 1128, 230], "category": "Text", "text": "banks and other financiers related to\nopportunities and benefits of the\ntransition to sustainable tourism"}, {"bbox": [96, 313, 256, 337], "category": "Section-header", "text": "Lessons Learnt:"}, {"bbox": [96, 351, 1132, 682], "category": "Text", "text": "Lessons learned in the Tourism sector is that there are many initiatives financed by different (EU) donors, but they are rather fragmented, sometimes competing and not providing sufficient scale to bring the tourism sector to a higher level. By focusing on the whole value chain, and by using the Team Europe approach this programme tries to bring together different partners and segments of the value chain. This should enable the sector to build on existing initiatives, ensure that private sector is in the lead and develop a focused and sustainable approach to tourism. Lessons learnt from other programmes also indicate the need to operate with an integrated and systemic approach, covering both the business enabling environment, and access to skills and finance. Work in a systemic way, e.g. combining access to finance with training, business advisory services, market linkages and supporting reforms in the enabling environment, is more effective in terms of SME development and private sector growth than addressing singular issues and creates higher impact. There are already several EU initiatives and those of other donors and international organisations, which could be taken up and further expanded/consolidated. Building on existing programme complementarities while focusing on systemic and behaviour change in the market systems, rather than only giving grants to SME, is more effective to achieve sustainable results, given the important market failures."}, {"bbox": [85, 735, 374, 766], "category": "Section-header", "text": "3.5 The Intervention Logic"}, {"bbox": [96, 781, 663, 808], "category": "Text", "text": "The underlying intervention logic for this action is as follows:"}, {"bbox": [96, 826, 1158, 1112], "category": "Text", "text": "Given Uganda's current fiscal constraints on broad tourism development, current strategy should prioritise the sustainable nature-based tourism sub-sector, where Uganda has a comparative advantage. The underlying intervention logic for this Action is that an environmentally sound, gender/youth/communities sensitive and economically viable transition to sustainable nature-based tourism is dependent on (i) improved visibility of Uganda as a sustainable tourism destination through an increased number of verifiable sustainable or fair-trade certified tourism value chain businesses in Uganda, connected in local and regional tourism circuits, (ii) strengthened capacity of local communities to derive greater benefits from nature-based tourism as well as the scaling and strengthening of conservancy models, (iii) the establishment of a supportive and inclusive enabling business environment and investment climate, that creates the right incentives for the transition to sustainability, and on (iv) improved access to finance for SMEs operating in the nature-based tourism space."}, {"bbox": [96, 1129, 1158, 1586], "category": "Text", "text": "Improved visibility and attractiveness of Uganda as a sustainable tourism destination will require both demand and supply side actions. On the demand side, tourism market actors require strengthened access to marketing platforms, programs and tools that bundle and promote sustainable or fair-trade tourism products. On the supply side, sustainable tourism circuits need to be developed to provide a viable and competitive package responding to market demand. The development of competitive circuits will require an increased level of cooperation and coordination between firms in the nature-based tourism market system. Initially, the Action will therefore provide technical assistance to facilitate businesses to identify high potential sustainable tourism circuits and tourism hubs along these circuits. Further TA will then be provided to the selected tourism circuits to develop strategic plans for circuit development and management, to identify priority investment requirements for connectivity between hubs, support both product and management upgrading plans for key market actors in the circuit, and build financial readiness. Where possible, circuits will be industry-led, enabling firms to build on existing networks and relationships to form the circuits rather than managing the process in a top-down fashion. A facility will be established to support circuit governance, collaboration and cooperation between public institutions working on tourism and private operators, and in this way build the social capital within the circuit to enable long term development and adaptation to changing needs and opportunities. Tourism circuits will need to verify their sustainability credentials, and the Action will therefore support the strengthening and scaling-up of a sustainable tourism certification programme."}, {"bbox": [1026, 1681, 1142, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 13 of 26"}]