Yemen has been experiencing political instability since 2011 and open conflict since late 2014. As a result, the social and institutional fabric in Yemen has witnessed increasing disintegration.
... See More + Although official statistics are no longer available, anecdotal evidence suggests that Yemen's GDP contracted by an accumulated 40 percent since the end of 2014. The conflict has caused widespread disruption of economic activities and has dramatically diminished employment and income opportunities in the private and public sector. In the current conflict situation and the given political uncertainty, it is not possible to provide a detailed, sound economic outlook. However, Yemen's medium-term outlook will depend ultimately on whether an end to the on-going conflict can be found and the rebuilding of the Yemen economy and social fabric is facilitated. In the short-term, there is no substitute for external financial support for initial macroeconomic stabilization given the interdependency of external financing, the fiscal expenditure program, and early stabilization. Finally, if violence can be contained before the end of 2018, GDP is predicted to begin its recovery in 2019 (i.e., via the gradual resumption of hydrocarbon export). However, little of the economic recovery is estimated to translate into a meaningful reduction of the high poverty rate in Yemen (approximately 80 percent in 2018).
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The development objective of Third Phase of the Central Asia Regional Links Program Project for Kyrgyz Republic is to increase regional connectivity and support sustainable tourism development in Issyk‐Kul Oblast.
... See More + This project has four components. 1) The first component, Regional Connections, Associated Facilities and Equipment in Issyk‐Kul Oblast, aims to support the establishment of a reliable road connection to Kazakhstan via the Karkyra BCP and access to tourism sites. 2) The second component, Aviation Safety and Service Provision, aims to support strengthening safety and service provision of the aviation sector. 3) The third component, Sustainable Tourism Development in Issyk‐Kul Oblast, aims to support the development of sustainable tourism in Issyk‐Kul Oblast. 4) The fourth component, Project Management and Implementation aims to support project management and implementation.
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The development objective of the Pacific Aviation Investment Project for Kiribati is to improve operational safety and oversight of international air transport infrastructure.
... See More + This restructuring will extend the current closing date of the project by six months from 31 December, 2018 to 30 June, 2019.
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The development objective of Social Protection and Skills Development Project for São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) is to support the development of an effective national safety net system for poor households and inclusive and labor market relevant skills development programs.
... See More + This project has four components. 1) The first component, Institutional and Capacity Strengthening, aims to strengthen the capacity of ministerial staff and institutions responsible for activities in the social protection and skills development sectors. It has the following subcomponents: (i) Building permanent delivery systems to implement social protection programs; and (ii) Strengthening governance and institutional capacity in the skills development sector. 2) The second component, Vulnerable Families Program Conditional Cash Transfer, aims to increase income and consumption of poor households participating in the Vulnerable Families Program (VFP) in STP, through the provision of regular cash transfers and accompanying measures including a PEP and skills training opportunities under the project. It has the following subcomponents: (i) Conditional Cash Transfer VFP; and (ii) Skills Training Opportunities Targeted to VFP Beneficiaries. 3) The third component, Employability of TVET graduates and youth, aims to support the development and delivery of quality training programs in STP, with a specific emphasis on skills development needs in the Tourism sector and developing entrepreneurial skills. It has the following subcomponents: (i) Establishing a National Hospitality and Tourism School; and (ii) Building entrepreneurial skills among secondary school students in STP. 4) The fourth component, Project Implementation Support, aims to directly finance the costs associated with the fiduciary management of the project and the staff required to oversee coordination across ministries and project Monitoring and Evaluation (M and E).
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Technology and digital platforms are disrupting the way the tourism sector operates from end to end affects low-income markets striving to leverage tourism for development impacts.
... See More + Digital platforms, in particular, provide both opportunities and challenges for World Bank Group client countries looking to harness tourism to help achieve the World Bank Group's twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. This report focuses on one disruptive force in the tourism industry: the emergence of peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation. P2P accommodation occurs when individuals offer, in exchange for money, a room or an entire house for short-term accommodation. The rapid growth of this new product is shaking up the hotel industry and creating a new way to travel and interact with a destination and its community. The objectives of this report are to investigate the opportunities and challenges that P2P provides in developed and emerging destinations and to offer a set of recommendations to better use this new business model for sustainable and inclusive tourism. The report also sketches a research agenda for the near future. This report is written for destination managers, policymakers, and World Bank Group staff involved in the design and management of tourism operations.
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Tourism is growing faster than ever before in emerging and developing economies. In just 10 years, the tourism landscape has changed completely.
... See More + Digital platforms are changing the way travel is traditionally researched, bought, sold, experienced and shared. Facilitated by digital platforms, user-Generated Content (UGC) is fast becoming the most important and widely used source of travel information. This impacts the traveler's path to purchase and disrupts established travel agencies, guidebooks, conventional marketing approaches and star rating systems. It also presents new opportunities for developing destinations to leverage these platforms for big data and cost-effective performance improvements. The World Bank Group and TripAdvisor collaborated on this report to support destination management organizations and local suppliers to extract the most value from UGC, while avoiding its pitfalls. This body of work aims to highlight good practices and suggest tools to consider when building plans for managing online reputation. It also provides case studies that illuminate effective campaigns and investment. The report is intended for use by those involved in or responsible for the management and/or marketing of a destination or a tourism business, with a focus on the leisure-travel market.
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Countries around the world are increasingly recognizing the importance of improving the conservation and enhancement of renewable natural resources, such as biodiversity, forests and fisheries, while promoting rural development.
... See More + Brazil is often used as a role model for other developing countries dealing with challenges related to conservation area management, sustainable natural resource management and community initiatives that bring economic benefits to local communities in and around Protected areas (PAs). The World Bank is supporting the programmatic south-south collaboration, and has recently helped scale up the initiative to include other countries in the southern Africa region. Under this umbrella, a knowledge exchange mission on rural development and biodiversity conservation to the Federal Republic of Brazil, took place between August and September 2018. The main objective of the south-south learning trip was to promote knowledge exchange on rural development and biodiversity conservation across the five Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. This report summarizes the main topics covered, and is divided into the following sections: 1) overview of the protected areas and biodiversity in Brazil; 2) financial sustainability of biodiversity conservation; 3) conservation benefits to local communities; 4) concessions in protected areas; and 5) results-based management of protected areas.
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