The USAID Resilient Communities Program is a five-year year activity of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by CNFA along with Solimar International. The primary objective of the USAID Resilient Communities Program is to improve the resiliency of target communities to benefit from inclusive and sustainable socio-economic development to create jobs, increase incomes and increase micro, small and medium enterprises` (MSME) revenues, thereby countering protracted malign influence.

Tourism is a priority sector in all the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) local development strategies; the region has an abundance of tourism sites and a fledgling tourism infrastructure. Adventure and cultural tourism are intertwined with unique agritourism. While tourism is developing in the mountainous regions, not all households will be able to be tourism providers. However, there are opportunities for households to indirectly participate in the tourism sector - as suppliers of food and crafts. On the other hand, there are municipalities with high potential for cultural tourism, as they can offer tourists folklore, crafts, ethnography, cultural or historical sites and monuments, and pilgrimage sites. To reach these goals, the Program will implement a market-system approach to develop and expand viable value chains in the ABL improving the competitiveness of MSMEs and supporting associations and service/information/extension providers to foster inclusive and sustainable market systems development.

This exciting internship program is intended to give Georgian graduate or undergraduate students the opportunity to work alongside a team of international and Georgian tourism experts and gain experience in sustainable tourism marketing and enterprise development. The program assignment is to assist the region`s small tourism businesses to be "market ready" for visitors who are eager to explore unique accommodations and experiences in Georgia.

Participants in the program will be supported by the USAID Resilient Communities Program, as well as Solimar International, a global sustainable tourism development company based in Washington, D.C. Participants will get to work with an international team during the 2-month program in order to promote a cross-cultural exchange of ideas and work together to support the development and marketing for the participating businesses in the communities.

Timeframe: Four months, starting the first week in May (training May 8 - 19). Starting date - May 1st - Ending date - August 31st.

Slight adjustments to the timeline may be accommodated.

Source: jobs.ge