There was a time when it was said, there are three ‘isms’ in Nepal – Hinduism, Buddhism, and tourism. The former two were idealized to veer the later. In our agrarian society, tourism is judiciously a better option for achieving higher growth rates.
Finally, Visit Nepal 2020 was launched amidst much fanfare. Tourist arrival figures in 2019, released by the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry, looks propitious when it comes to making it a success. However, there are some pebbles inside the shoes. For instance, it has come to light that the government has done nothing to promote Nepal in China and India.
According to the UN World Tourism Organisation, the outbound travel markets of Nepal’s giants neighbours are growing fast. And also, despite the incentives and heavy investment in tourism’s infrastructure to boosts visitor arrival, the budget announcement that was delayed by four months has hampered the promotional campaign, that is according to the Secretary of the Tourism Ministry.
A much-touted objective is to bring as many as one million tourists to the country. But political instability and inadequate infrastructure to host the envisaged number of tourists are matters of concern as in the past. And many people doubt that the goal will be achieved with the available tour packages and present air connectivity. So the government and the private sector need to identify the changing tastes of visitors to meet the target.
The government, with the budgetary increment seen in the aviation sector, plans to build and upgrade many airports in different parts of the country. It has also allocated Rs. 297 million to encourage mountaineering tourism and Rs. 490 million for tourism infrastructure development. Also heartening to note is the government’s announcement of three cities as independent and complimentary triangular destinations – Janakpur and Lumbini as religious places and Pokhara as a spot of natural beauty. Budgetary allocation for the tourism sector is appropriate, but when will the projects be implemented given that the much-awaited Tourism Year is already here?
Almost half a million foreigners visited this country last year. Indian and Chinese tourist arrivals increased by 20.5 and 36.8 per cent respectively, and total tourist arrival by air went up in 2010 compared to 2009, according to the Nepal Tourism Board. It’s encouraging for the people, as hundreds of thousands of them are in the tourism business.
The NTB’s slogan “Naturally Nepal, Once is not enough” is sonorous, albeit, nothing concrete has been done to put Nepal in a natural state, and there’s no new package to have visitors visit Nepal again and again. There are no schemes to increase arrivals, and the current growth can be considered a natural increase and not a result of marketing and promotional efforts.
Tourism depends on the government’s policy and investment. It is quite apparent that good infrastructure is lacking, security is weak and air links are tenuous. Failure to manage the garbage, traffic congestion and pollution are some of the problems Nepali cities are facing. How can one think Nepal can have tourists visit the country again with the existing service?
Kathmandu is a historical as well as cultural city. But there is only perfunctory marketing and promotion. This is the world of propaganda, but the Nepali government has been unable to place the nation as a palatable holiday destination. New Zealand has been termed as the best holiday destination, but France boasts the highest number of visitors. Nepal with its nature’s gifts can emulate these countries.
In the modern world, travellers also consist of researchers and scholars. The country can also become a sanctum for students of theology, religion, astrology, tantrism and ancient languages. Education has become a costly affair in the West, so if it plans well, Nepal can lure students as the cost here will be relatively low.
Tourism will obviously yank up from the marsh, but lots of things need attention. The Himalayas have become too archaic, though they still count as the No.1 reason for visiting the country. The government cannot be very commercial, risking its populace due to the ecological and environmental damage that could take place. So some piquant ideas must be mustered up.
Last year’s tourist arrival was encouraging, but what is more important is, how much did they spend, how long did they stay and what did they buy? One thing I find outlandish is letting the foreigners roam everywhere. Is it not a shame to let them flit from Mechi to Mahakali, the Himalayas to the terai and hear them say: Oh! What poverty. Many people in the West think the poor are to be commiserated and poverty is disgusting. To them, there is poverty because the people are lazy.
Let’s think something different: why don’t we attract all those retired people who might stay here for six months or a year and more, which would be relatively cheap for them than in their country? Or, how about centres for yoga, meditation and naturopathy? We hear about village tourism, why not some resort where there will be a Nepali kind of animal husbandry, orchards and farming, where people will eat organic food and enjoy the life that’s said to be a thousand years old. What about retreat centres for special kinds of people like writers, painters in places like Mugu and Dolpo? I’m a little scared to sound controversial, but I want the Narayanhiti Palace to be opened for a Nepali monarch-type night stay to the foreigners by charging them exorbitantly.
Think about all those obscenely rich people, crazy people, and market the products to them. Soaring tourist arrivals are not important; their worth is what must be taken into consideration. They have to spend handsomely in Nepal. The amenities must also be better, however. With our collective efforts such as aggressive marketing of new products and opening new tourist destinations will obviously make Visit Nepal 2020 a success.