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U.P PRO POOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR PREPERATION INTEGRATED TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR

BUDDHIST CIRCUIT IN UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA

Ref No.:019/Pro-Poor/UPT/CS/2016

DIRECTOR GENERAL TOURISM

DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM, GOVERNMENT OF UTTAR PRADESH

4TH FLOOR, PARYATAN BHAWAN,C-13, VIPIN KHAND, GOMTI NAGAR,

LUCKNOW-226010, UTTAR PRADESH

TEL NO: 0522 - 2307037

FAX NO: 0522 - 2308937

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TERMS OF REFERENCE

I. Project Background India is well positioned to take advantage of the dynamism of tourism as a potential driver for inclusive growth in asset-rich but low-income areas. India possesses some of the greatest wealth in tangible and intangible assets in the world, including archaeological, historical, religious, natural and cultural resourcesi with unrivaled tourism potential. The country attracted about 7 million international and an estimated 750 million domestic/regional tourists and pilgrims in 2013, contributing a total of over US$100 billion to the Indian economy, or 6.6 percent of its GDPii. The country is ranked 12th in the world out of 184 countries in terms of total size of contribution to GDP and is fourth in long-term growth forecastsiii. The sector is experiencing a period of strong growth driven by India’s burgeoning middle class, open skies and low cost airlines, new product development and robust promotional initiatives by the government. Despite its growth and high-level policy directions, up to now, India has been unable to harness the power of the tourism sector to achieve the goals of inclusive growth and poverty reduction. The economic benefits from tourism have unevenly trickled down to local communities or to the assets and locations that draw millions of visitors and pilgrims in the first place. In certain regions, such as the Buddhist Circuit destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the majority of earnings from tourism have been captured by airlines, travel agencies and tour operatorsiv, most located outside the heritage-rich tourism destinations to which they direct their clients and from which they profit. At the broader level, the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report for 2013 ranked India 65th out of 140 countries on overall tourism competitiveness despite being ranked 21st in terms of touristic resources. India’s tourism, in spite of its assets, only ranked 41st globally in terms of international arrivals and 54th in terms of expenditure per visitorv. The state of Uttar Pradesh best exemplifies this paradox. Uttar Pradesh—India’s biggest cultural and tourist destination, containing some of the country’s most iconic assets and annually hosting millions of devotees and visitors—remains one of India’s low-income states. Uttar Pradesh (UP) is India’s fourth largest and most populous state with over 199 million inhabitantsvi, and is home to the emblematic Taj Mahal, to one of the most ancient living cities in the world—Varanasi—located on the banks of the sacred Ganges, and to two of the world’s four most important Buddhist sites—Sarnath and Kushinagar, all visited by millions annually. In 2013, the state attracted 226 million domestic and just over 2 million international visitorsvii, who contributed a total of USD 6 billion to the UP economyviii. Despite this unique endowment, UP remains India’s third poorest state, with a 37.7 percent poverty rateix. UP also lags behind most Indian states across a number of human development indicators, such as literacy and infant mortality. The state’s literacy rate is lower than that of the entire country. When disaggregated by gender, men’s literacy rate is much higher at 79.2 percent compared to 59.2 for women. Equally troublesome is the adverse sex ratio in the state: 904 females to 1,000 boys.x Ground-level data indicates that Agra, the Braj region and the Buddhist Circuit, which are some of the prime tourist destinations of India and UP with some of the greatest wealth of its heritage assets, have also high poverty rates. For instance, its most iconic heritage asset and India’s primary tourism attraction, the Taj Mahal in Agra, is surrounded by more than 20 slums with crumbling infrastructure and services. In certain wards of Sarnath, one of the most significant sites of the Buddhist Circuit, most households are living below the poverty line. Mathura, the largest city and pilgrimage attraction of the

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Braj region, lacks the most basic urban infrastructure and services, condemning residents to extremely low living standards, with up to 28 percent of households living below the poverty line in some areasxi. It is now recognized that tourism must be developed and managed in a controlled, integrated and sustainable manner, based on sound planning, in order to generate lasting socioeconomic and ecological benefits to a destination. There are numerous examples in the world where tourism has not been well planned and managed, leading to uncontrolled development, degradation or destruction of tourism resources – and the market itself. Over time, these have resulted in environmental and social problems and poor quality destinations which have shown to be detrimental not only to tourists, but mostly to the residents. Many unplanned destinations, which have lost their market to other better planned and managed destinations, are now undergoing redevelopment. Emphasis is being placed on an integrated approach, balancing economic vibrancy, environmental sustainability and socio-cultural inclusion factors, as a means to achieve lasting benefits through tourism. The application of such sound “sustainable tourism planning” has provided the basis for destinations to achieve more successful tourism development outcomes with the necessary policies, physical and institutional structures and standards in place. But ineffective approaches and practices are inhibiting UP’s tourist destinations from leveraging their unique cultural and natural assets as endogenous sources of inclusive growth and poverty reduction through pro-poor tourism development. This is due to:

(a) A lack of a shared vision and consensual strategy among stakeholders for the coordinated

development and promotion of asset-rich destinations, leaving many touristic areas to degradation:

(i) Investments and related product development often respond to the demands of top-end foreign visitors, despite the fact that domestic and regional tourism segments represent the greater volume, with higher potential impact on the local economy and expected growth rate.

(ii) Multiple, uncoordinated strategies across central, state and local government agencies and the private sector result in overlapping and/or conflicting interventions and investments, and ultimately no action.

(iii) A monument-centric and fragmented approach to branding, promotion and investment efforts has isolated tourist attractions and sites from their wide context, threatening their integrity and attractiveness to tourists.

(b) Lack of adequate destination management and institutional capacity, threatening assets and local communities and reducing visitor satisfaction and retention:

(i) Weak planning and management of the destinations has led to their unregulated growth, resulting in exclusion of the poor from local economic development. Infrastructure services in the destinations are inadequate even for the current levels of population, let alone millions of additional visitors during peak tourist and pilgrimage seasons, leading to resentment amongst residents and minimal visitor satisfaction.

(ii) Limited institutional capacities, unclear role assignment among government agencies and uncoordinated development efforts in city development, tourism promotion and local

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economic development have led to inadequate protection, management and promotion of assets, and inadequate development of tourist products for various market segments.

(iii) Local authorities lack the appropriate tools and contemporary approaches for the stewardship of heritage assets for pro-poor tourism development purposes. A preference for “beautification” and “modernization” schemes that further isolate tourist attractions and historic areas and the poorest populations put them at even greater risk.

(c) Ineffective and non-participatory policy approaches which exclude communities from the benefits of tourism:

(i) A lack of multi-stakeholder engagement in tourism sector development and largely non-participatory, “expert”-led resource allocation results in a disconnect between planning and the reality on the ground and a lack of local ownership, thus reducing investment implementation effectiveness and preventing adequate operation and maintenance of investments.

(ii) Limited engagement in public-private partnerships and co-management schemes with surrounding communities and the private sector, as well as a complex business and investment climate leads to a lack of relevance, poor market connectivity, generally poor service standards and no leveraging with private investors.

(iii) A lack of formal and decentralized sources of revenues hinders the proper management and conservation of cultural and natural assets and the broad sharing of tourism benefits at the local level.

This reality shows that not only has the potential of tourism as a driver of inclusive and sustainable growth not been leveraged, but the current tourism model isolates local communities from economic development and puts globally recognized cultural and natural assets at severe risk of neglect and degradation. Moreover, the majority of current government interventions in the tourism sector, with their focus on large-scale infrastructure investments (e.g., the creation of a ring road providing direct access to the Taj Mahal, bypassing all other attractions and communities), have the potential to aggravate the situation. This demonstrates the need for a new approach to tourism planning and management, without which the negative impacts on assets and communities may quickly become unmanageable, as seen in other destinations in the world. Acknowledging this reality, the Government of Uttar Pradesh has prioritized Agra, the Braj region and the Buddhist Circuit as drivers for the inclusive socioeconomic development of the state. It is a priority for the Uttar Pradesh authorities to better manage the state’s heritage assets in a way that delivers (i) inclusive economic growth through employment multipliers and income opportunities for local businesses and entrepreneurs, and (ii) improvements in multipurpose access infrastructure, public spaces and basic services utilized by both local communities and visitors. In this context, through its Department of Tourism, the state government requested World Bank support to help refine, promote and implement their pro-poor tourism vision. In response, the World Bank is supporting the Department of Tourism in preparing the Uttar Pradesh Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project aimed to increase tourism-related benefits for local communities in targeted destinations. The project targets in its initial phase seven priority destinations, including Agra; Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Govardhan in the Braj region; and Sarnath and Kushinagar in the Buddhist Circuit.

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The project is expected to have far-reaching social, economic and environmental benefits at local, state and national levels. Its activities primarily target the local communities and entrepreneurs near some of the main tourist attractions in the Project selected destinations. These communities and entrepreneurs will benefit from better basic service, expanded economic opportunities, and a healthier ecological context. Project activities will also benefit both domestic and foreign tourists visiting each of selected destinations through an improved tourist experience, as well as the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Department of Tourism in their pro-poor tourism endeavors by testing new approaches while providing the tools and strengthening the capacity for the development of destination-level visions, planning and branding strategies in a more inclusive, coordinated and sustainable manner; and developing diverse tourist products better tailored to specific tourist segments and markets, together with related improvements in tourist infrastructure and local service provision. This is expected to be achieved through four groups of activities/components:

Component 1: Destination Planning and Governance aims to test new approaches and establish the institutional structures, policies and coordination mechanisms necessary for bringing together the public and private sectors and local communities for effective destination-level tourism planning and governance. Component 2: Tourist Products Development and Management aims enhance the tourist experience while simultaneously contributing to improving local living conditions and livelihood opportunities by transforming existing tourist “attractions” into tourist “products” that incorporate local communities both physically and economically. Component 3: Support to Local Economic Development aims to improve the linkages of those involved in the productive and creative economies with the tourism value chain in the Project target areas/destinations by providing advisory, technical assistance and financing for business development, production and marketing within the tourism value chain. Component 4: Project Management aims to provide the necessary technical, advisory and financial support for the adequate implementation, management and coordination of the Project.

This Terms of Reference is part of Component 1 and will inform the implementation of Components 2 and 3.

II. Consultancy Objectives and Desired Tourism Approach The main objective of this consultancy is to facilitate the formulation of a long-term (10-20 years) plan for the Buddhist circuit development in the state as a sustainable and inclusive world class tourism destination. The Plan should include a shared vision, strategies, measures and practical actions which will guide short term steps for the 10-20 long term vision. It should stimulate a tourism approach and associated actions that strengthen government, entrepreneurs, residents and tourists/pilgrims interchange while using the identity and assets of the regions as drivers of its prosperity. The Plan should entail a conceptual framework for all the main sites in the state, with an in-depth detailing in Kushinagar, Sarnath and Shravasti – the project priority destinations in its first and second phases, respectively. It should express the type of tourism these destinations and circuit area aspires to as well as the role of tourism in the region and its people’s wider development. To this end, the Plan should follow the

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principles of inclusion and sustainability, which balance social, economic, environmental, spiritual and cultural aspects. It will also be based on historical research on the evolving history of these destinations and circuit area and its rich tangible and intangible heritage legacy and sanctity. Some of the main attributes the Plan should include:

An analysis of environmental effects of tourism and ongoing development activities in these destinations and circuit area; and coordinated approach to improve these environmental aspects.

An evaluation of the socio-cultural considerations related to tourism development in these destinations and circuit area with the aim to identify positive impacts at present and future needs.

The existing tourism market strategy and program for tourism promotion at the regional level that should be focused related to Buddhist tourism for these destinations and circuit area.

Tourism contributes to foster the distribution of benefits throughout these destinations and circuit area and among its community.

The development of tourism products and management of tourism activities are fully associated with these destinations and circuit area’s overall management and integrated in a natural way into the life of its communities.

A social approach related to the capabilities and creative resources potentially derived from the current living conditions of the resident population in these destinations and circuit area.

A new relationship will be established between visitors and residents for mutually enriching experiences – a regional offering with places and stories shared between the communities and visitors.

An integrated destination and tourism/pilgrimage offer with diversified and four seasons products characterized by service excellence.

Tangible and intangible culture linked to the surrounding cultural and natural landscape. Institutional cooperation and public-private agreements as key elements of effective destination

and circuit level management.

III. Suggested Methodology and Scope of Work

The consultancy will develop a full technical and financial proposal for the assignment. The Plan should be developed using a participatory approach to inclusive sustainable tourism development, based on the existing challenges and potential of the selected destinations and circuit area in general, involving all relevant stakeholders, including private sector and communities, and should outline creative and sustained solutions and strategies. An analysis including population characterization and forecasting, economic dynamics, entrepreneurship ratios, local administration functions, quality of life and environmental assessments should be carried out as part of the assignment. This analysis should build upon preliminary profiling of the destinations and area carried out under the preparation of the project. In addition, environmental and social safeguards must be taken into due consideration as per the central and state governments as well as World Bank safeguards guidelines. Special attention should be given to the socio cultural, vulnerability and environmental aspects of tourism, including issues of participation of the poor in the tourism value chain, planning and management in the region, and the critical need for strategies to increase the participation of youth, women and other vulnerable groups in the pilgrimage/tourism value chain, including:

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Identification of existing barriers for local communities to participate in tourism activities (lack of finance, credit, regulations, exclusion, limited capacity etc.) and recommendations on which actions and interventions have to be taken by various stakeholders to remove these barriers;

Opportunities to include the local communities (informal sector, men and women, disabled and other vulnerable populations) into the value chain through their involvement into in the maintenance, preservation and interpretation of the heritage assets.

Development of visitor experiences based in the current living conditions of the local populations and to transform existing tourist “attractions” and “products” into “experiences” to be “shared” between visitors and locals.

The Plan should take into consideration the sanctity of the circuit area and its evolving history, and give

special attention to the conservation and/or rehabilitation of the area’s ecology (a core element in

Buddhism) through for instance culturally sensitive design solutions and the use and/or rescue of local

appropriate technologies.

Finally, the Plan should take into consideration the historical and pilgrimage relationships and patterns

with the other scared Buddhist sites in Bihar and Nepal associated with the Buddha footsteps as well as

associated with Ashoka spread of Buddhism in India and regionally.

Suggested activities include inter alia:

(i) Destinations and circuit level assessments and consultations, including, amongst others:

Review of existing profiles, relevant studies and assessments prepared under the project and by others on tourism and pilgrimage in the project targeted destinations and at circuit level, including for instance: o Social, cultural, environmental and economic aspects in each destination and at circuit

level. o Assets and attractions o Domestic and regional tourism segments, patterns of visitation, expenditure, and

performance. o Value chains and other tourism related aspects o Infrastructure, services and requirements for the resident population which also

benefit visitors o Current hospitality capacity, gaps and standards o Legislation, regulation and information systems, necessary for effective destination

management

Analysis of trends in the destinations and at circuit level in the short, medium and long term to be carried out in consultation with various concerned stakeholders

SWOT analysis of the destinations and the circuit area to be carried out in consultation with various concerned stakeholders

(ii) Participatory formulation of an Inclusive Tourism Development Plan for the Buddhist Circuit in Uttar Pradesh with detailed strategy developed for Kushinagar, Sarnath and Shravasti. This would include the facilitation of:

A long term shared vision for the Buddhist circuit as an integrated pilgrimage/tourism offer/destination in the state and as part of a larger offer at country and regional levels

A set of principles guiding action, programs and core actions in the circuit and each of its core destinations in the state

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A proposal of tourism products according with their urban, rural, socio-economic and cultural characteristics, the nature and relevance of their attractions, monuments and assets, and the modalities of visitor “experiences” that they can provide

A proposal of infrastructure and services investments required for the enhancement of the destinations and circuit as well as progressive integration between visitors and the resident community, taking into consideration the region’s evolving history and setting

Institutional arrangements, roles and responsibilities, governance criteria (including public and private partnerships), and indicative budget with source and regulations for coordinated destination management. Measures to stimulate public-private partnerships and co-management schemes with surrounding communities and the private sector

Financing plan for the circuit development sustainability

Research and information system (definition of indicators and variables to monitor the process of change in order to assist the continued development, management and marketing of the destination)

(iii) Preparation of complementary strategies for the circuit area and its tourist products and destinations, in consultation with various stakeholders, and including for instance:

A plan to increase visitor satisfaction and retention based on the proposal of re-tracing Buddha Walks in each destination and the circuit area – work under implementation;

Actions to maintain the shared vision and consensual strategy among stakeholders;

Measures to build adequate destination management and institutional capacity;

Actions to stimulate local owners´ investments, small entrepreneurship initiatives and to empower local communities;

Visitor flow plan and management criteria;

A mobility and pedestrian safety plan for pilgrims;

Measures to increase the standards and adequate the development of tourist services and infrastructure to the various market segments;

A branding, promotion and marketing strategy for the circuit development and sustainable management

IV. Expected Deliverables and Timeline The duration of the contract is 6 months from the date of the contract signature. The expected deliverables from the consultancy include, inter alia: 1. Inception report with overall methodology, team composition, and other relevant aspects within 15

days of contract signature. 2. Background report with findings from the Buddhist Circuit assessments as per task (i) within2

months of contract signature. 3. Inclusive Tourism Development Plan for the Buddhist Circuit in Uttar Pradesh as per task (ii)

within4 months of contract signature. 4. Detailed Tourism Development Strategy for Kushinagar, Sarnath and Shravasti as per tasks(i), (ii)

and (iii) within6 months of contract signature. Disclosure: The consultancy shall assist the client in disclosing the satisfactory mapping, Integrated Plan and Final Deliverables in compliance with the safeguard policies of the World Bank and GoI regulations. All deliverables must be satisfactory to the GoUP and the World Bank

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V. Qualifications

A qualified consultancy comprising of a multi-sectoral team with proven experience in inclusive and

sustainable tourism development planning and in carrying out similar assignment is desired.

Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to

enhance their qualifications.

The team should meet the following minimum qualification:

Proven experience in successfully facilitating inclusive sustainable tourism development planning processes, destination planning and development;

Proven knowledge of Buddhism in the region;

Proven experience in leading multi-stakeholder collaboration, participatory techniques, coaching, networking, learning, alliance building and team building;

Team leader should have minimum 20 years’ experience in similar assignment and each team member should have minimum 10 years’ experience in the relevant domains of the assignment such as sustainable tourism, urban/cultural landscape conservation, social inclusion, destination/circuit management, etc.;

Experience with participatory approaches for inclusive sustainable tourism;

Knowledge of India’s strategies for tourism development, poverty reduction, urban development, heritage management and environmental conservation is an advantage;

Familiarity with India’s sector policies and national policies, functioning of government/public sector, private sector organizations, including public private partnerships, cooperation with civil society is an advantage;

Excellent communication skills in Hindi and English;

Experience in working on projects sponsored by externally aided agencies such as the World Bank, ADB etc is an asset.

The agency should have minimum five years of work experience in similar assignments and at least two

different successfully completed projects.

The team will be evaluated on the basis of their qualifications and working experiences in these fields of

work on earlier successfully completed assignments. Investment capabilities will be assessed based on

the current business turnovers for the last 3 years and net worth computed.

VI. Support and Reporting

The consultancy main liaison is the State Project Coordination Unit at the Department of Tourism, GoUP. Upon the contract signature, the consultancy will be extended full support from the State Project Coordination Unit regarding access to relevant available data and information on the Project. The State Project Coordination Unit will provide the consultancy with all relevant studies carried out during the project preparation, such as destinations profiling and the re-tracing of Buddha Walks in each destination as well as the central and state governments, World Bank and the project safeguards guidelines. The consultancy may also be extended advisory support from the World Bank team on its policies and the Project, as needed.

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The consultancy team leader and other specialists shall hold at least a monthly meeting with the State Project Coordination Unit to review progress and discuss any issues arising. Throughout the assignment, the State Project Coordination Unit may require and facilitate coordination with other consultancies carrying out other assignments of relevance in the Project target areas to ensure coherence and complementarity of actions. It is the sole responsibility of the consultancy to contact the identified stakeholders, gather the necessary information, synthesize and analyze it as well as deliver all the assignment deliverables satisfactory to the GoUP and the World Bank.

VII. Intellectual property rights All information, data and documents provided to the consultancy or developed by the consultancy in the course of performing the services under this ToR shall be treated as confidential and shall not be published or disclosed to any third party without the prior written approval of the Department of Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and the World Bank. All intellectual property rights of information, data, reports and others documents; images produced during the consultancy belong to the World Bank and the Department of Tourism, GoUP, and should not be used and/or shared by the consultancy without their prior agreement.

VIII. Submission of Proposals The copy of the Expression of interest should be clearly marked as “EOI For Integrated Tourism

Development Plan For Buddhist Circuit under UP Pro Poor Tourism Development Project"

from<<Bidder Name>>”.

It should indicate the name and address of the bidder to enable the proposal to be returned unopened

in case it is declared "late.” It shall contain no interlineation or overwriting, except as necessary to

correct errors made by the bidder itself. Any such corrections must be initialled by the person (or

persons) who sign(s) the proposals. All pages of the proposal must be sequentially numbered and shall

be initialled by the Authorized Representative of the bidder.

The attention of interested agency is drawn to paragraph 1.9 of the World Bank’s Guidelines: Selection

and Employment of Consultants [under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits & Grants] by World Bank Borrowers

“Consultants Selection Guidelines of the World Bank dated January 2011” (“Consultant Guidelines”),

setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. "The Guidelines are available at

www.worldbank.org/procure."

A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost based System (QCBS) method

set out in the Consultant Guidelines.

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours i.e. 10.00 to 17.00 hours.

IX. Venue and Deadline for submission

a. Proposals must be received at the address specified below latest by and not later than 15:00 hours on 10-03-2016 at below mentioned address at below mentioned address:

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Director General, Department of Tourism,

U.P Pro Poor Tourism Development Project Govt. Of U.P., Paryatan Bhawan,

C-13 (4th Floor), VipinKhand, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow-226010.

E-mail aksrto@gmail.com, procurement.uptourism@gmail.com

b. Any proposal received by the Department of UP Tourism after the above deadline shall be rejected and returned unopened to the bidder.

c. The bids submitted by telex/telegram/ fax etc. shall not be considered. No correspondence will be entertained on this matter.

d. Department of UP Tourism shall not be responsible for any postal delay or non-receipt/ non-delivery of the documents. No further correspondence on the subject will be entertained.

e. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Document, the Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any Proposal and to annul the Selection Process and reject all Proposals, at any time without any liability or any obligation for such acceptance rejection or cancellation.

f. Department of UP Tourism reserves the right to modify and amend any of the above-stipulated condition/criterion depending upon project priorities vis-à-vis urgent commitments.

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Information to be submitted along with EOI

Submission Requirements

1. Organizational: Provide a brief description of the background and organization of your agency/entity. The brief description should include ownership details, date and place of incorporation of the agency, objectives of the firm etc.

Brief Data Sheet of the Agency

Sl.

No. Particulars

To be filled up by the Agency along with

supporting documents

1 Name of firm and address of registered office

2 Registration No. & Date: (Please attach

Registration Certificate)

3 Year of incorporation

4 Total number of years of Experience from the

incorporation of the Firm.

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2. Financial: Provide previous three financial years turnover and net worth of the agency on the basis

of the audited accounts of the previous three financial years as follows

Amount in Lakh (INR)

Particulars Turnover Net worth

Turnover 2012-13

Turnover 2013-14

Turnover 2014-15

3. Agency’s experience of similar nature:

Sl.

No.

Name of

Assignment

Name of

the Client

Duration Brief Details of the assignment and

actual services provided by your

organization.

Contract

Value Rs.

(lakhs)

Use separate sheets if space provided is not sufficient

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Endnotes i Tangible heritage refers to buildings, monuments, landscapes and artifacts while intangible heritage includes traditions, folklore, cultural expressions, creativity and knowledge, to mention a few. India’s vast cultural heritage includes 5,000 years of history, 22 official and more than 1,000 minor languages, about 200 million craftsmen and women, 30 World Heritage Sites, and tens of thousands of monuments, historic areas and sacred sites spread over villages, cities, coast lines, valleys, mountains, deserts, and forests as well a wealth in traditional knowledge and skills, cultural practices and performing arts. iiIndia Ministry of Tourism, 2014. iii The Indian travel and tourism industry directly employs over 23 million people, supporting 36 million jobs, or 8.7 percent of all employment. See India Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2015, WTTC. ivIFC 2011 assessment. vIndian Ministry of Tourism, 2013. viAs of 2011. vii Ministry of Tourism, GoI, 2013. It is important to note that in 2013, the state hosted the KumbhMela in Allahabad. The Kumbh is believed to be the largest religious gathering on earth (held every 12 years on the banks of the 'Sangam'- the confluence of the holy rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati). The gathering attracted about 120 million people, according to data from the event organizers. viii Department of Tourism, GoUP, 2014. ixThe World Bank Country Partnership Strategy for India, 2013-2017. x UNDP, Uttar Pradesh Human and Economic Development Indicators, 2011. xiProfiling of Core Destinations in the Buddhist Circuit and the Braj Region IIDC, May 2014.