Consultancy supplier for on-site coaching for community-based tourism operations in Khun Village

Consulting service:       On-site coaching for community-based tourism operations in Khun Village

Contract term:                 From April to August 2026

Application deadline:   Before 10 April 2026

 

1. PROJECT INTRODUCTION

The Swiss Tourism for Sustainable Development in Vietnam (ST4SD), financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), aims at making Viet Nam’s tourism sector more sustainable and inclusive. As part of the economic development cooperation of Switzerland for Viet Nam, it is implemented by the consortium of Helvetas Vietnam, a Swiss international NGO, and the CRED Tourism & Agriculture Solution Consulting Company Limited, a Vietnamese NGO. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism appointed the Viet Nam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) as the project owner.

 

In the previous phase, the Khun Village community received support to implement CommunityBased Tourism (CBT) training activities and to establish a Community-Based Tourism Coordination Board (DMO). Through these interventions, community awareness of CBT and sustainable tourism has improved; service groups (homestay, food and beverage, guiding, cultural performance, etc.) have been formed; and community members have acquired basic skills in hosting and serving visitors.

• However, practical implementation has revealed a clear gap between training and actual operations:
• Community members have gained knowledge but have not yet developed operational fluency;
• Service quality remains inconsistent and uneven across households;
• Confidence in regularly hosting and serving guests is still limited;
• There is no simple, community-led system for feedback, reflection, and continuous improvement operated by the community and the DMO.

 

While the TOR for Product Development and Market Linkages focuses on the WHAT (products, modules, markets, and pricing), this TOR focuses on the HOW:

• How services are operated in a stable and sustainable manner;
• How households and service groups coordinate with each other;
• How human capacity and an internal learning system are built as a foundation for subsequent development phases.

 

2. OBJECTIVES

To strengthen the practical operational capacity and internal learning culture of tourism service providers in Khun Village through on-site coaching, ensuring that the community can deliver services in a stable, consistent manner and is ready for subsequent phases of product development and market engagement. Specific objectives are:

• To standardize homestay and food & beverage (F&B) operations at a level suitable for hosting real guests;
• To enhance confidence and problem-solving capacity of community members in guest service delivery;
• To strengthen coordination among households and service groups through the facilitation role of the DMO;
• To establish and pilot a simple, context-appropriate feedback–reflection–improvement mechanism;
• To build operational and organizational readiness for future product development interventions.

 

3. SCOPE OF WORK

3.1. On-site Operational Coaching 

Coaching will be conducted directly on-site, including:

• Homestays;
• Kitchens and dining areas;
• Communal spaces and existing community tourism experiences.

Coaching content is practice-oriented and includes, but is not limited to:

• Guest arrival and departure procedures;
• Cleaning and organisation of accommodation spaces;
• Market visits, meal preparation, and cost calculation per guest/group;
• Meal presentation and services;
• Communication, guest interaction, and handling common service situations;
• Coordination between homestays, F&B services, and related service groups;
• Interpretation and storytelling of local culture, products, services, and destination values.

Coaching will be delivered through:

• Real guest hosting situations (where applicable); or
• Simulated scenarios closely reflecting real operational conditions.

Note: This TOR does not include tourism product design, experience modularization, tour packaging, or pricing.

3.2. Establishment and Strengthening of a Community Learning System Support will be provided to the DMO and service groups to:

• Collect guest feedback using simple and context-appropriate tools;
• Organise short, regular reflection sessions to jointly discuss:
  • What is working well?
  • What needs improvement?
• Identify small, feasible improvements and monitor their implementation;
• Gradually develop shared operational norms agreed upon by the community as a foundation for future quality assurance.

 

4. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

• Methodological approach along with the proposed number of days for the consultancy and daily rate
• Community-centred approach;
• Hands-on, on-site coaching (“learning by doing”);
• No repetition of classroom-based theoretical training;
• Learning through real practice and reflection;
• Respect for community learning pace, motivation, and livelihood context;
• Close coordination with the Community-Based Tourism Coordination Board (DMO).

 

5. DELIVERABLES

Deliverables are defined by activity cluster to ensure measurability, monitoring, and direct linkage to the objectives of this TOR.

5.1. Deliverables for On-site Operational Coaching

• A Homestay Operations Checklist (guest handling, cleaning, room setup, basic safety and comfort);
• An F&B Operations Checklist (market sourcing, cost calculation, meal preparation, presentation, and service);
• At least 5–7 homestays directly coached and operating at a level suitable for hosting real guests;
• A documented list of typical operational scenarios and context-appropriate responses;
• Field notes documenting operational progress of individual households and service groups.

5.2. Deliverables for Service Coordination and Management

• A service coordination flow between homestays, F&B providers, and related service groups;
• Clear definition of DMO roles and responsibilities in guest coordination and service allocation;
• A set of shared coordination principles agreed upon and piloted by the community;
• Evidence of guest hosting cases involving coordination among multiple households/service groups.

5.3. Deliverables for Community Learning System Development

• A simple guest feedback collection toolkit appropriate to the community context;
• At least 3–4 reflection and learning sessions facilitated by the DMO during the TOR period;
• A list of small-scale improvements agreed upon and piloted by the community;
• Documented operational adjustments made based on guest feedback.

5.4. End-of-Assignment Deliverables

• A consolidated list of community-agreed operational standards;
• A synthesis report on operational learning, including:
  • Effective practices;
  • Existing gaps and limitations;
• Level of human and organisational readiness for product development;
• Recommendations for subsequent interventions (product development, market linkage, quality enhancement).

 

6. MONITORING INDICATORS (with emphasis on the learning system)

• Number of tourism companies that are actively implementing measures to mitigate their environmental or social impact. Target: 5
• Number of institutions introduced to sustainable solutions. Target: 10
• Number of companies introduced to sustainable solutions.
• Number of institutions or companies who implemented sustainable solutions. Target 15
• Regular reflection and learning sessions organized by the DMO;
• Evidence of operational changes based on guest feedback;
• Improved coordination among households and service groups;
• Community-driven identification of capacity gaps and support needs;
• Gradual reduction of dependence on direct external support.

 

7. SELECTION CRITERIA

Consultant Profile

• Vietnamese or local individual consultant or consulting team
• National consultants are eligible (preference for experience in Vietnam / northern mountainous regions)

The consultant or consulting team should have:

• Proven practical experience in Community-Based Tourism (CBT) and homestay operations;
• Demonstrated capacity in on-site coaching (beyond classroom training);
• Strong understanding of rural and ethnic minority community contexts;
• Experience working with DMOs and community service groups;
• Ability to facilitate community-based learning and continuous improvement processes;
• Prior experience with development and/or donor-funded projects is an advantage.

 

8. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

Interested suppliers are requested to submit their proposals detailing the following:

• CV and cover letter;
• Draft outline of proposed training content;
• Applicants will indicate their expected daily rate (including VAT) and number of days to conduct the consultancy.

The submitted documents must be password-protected. You will be asked for the password after submitting the application.  

Proposal should be sent to [email protected]; [email protected] before 10 April 2026. Please note that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.