Tourism Year 2011 Challenge Ahead

BY LB THAPA

According to the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), this is 12 per cent rise in the number of visitors compared to the figure the same month last year.   Nepal Tourism Year 2011 is round the corner. The ambitious tourism celebration of the country has targeted to bring in one million foreign visitors to the country. During this year, the number of visitors has reached 364,115 from January to October compared to 307,532 during the corresponding period in 2009. If everything goes well, the number of tourists is expected to cross 450,000 next year. The increased number of tourists in October and November has pushed hotel booking to over 95 per cent. A record high number of tourists, 62,712, visited the country in October. According to the Immigration Office, Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), this is 12 per cent rise in the number of visitors compared to the figure the same month last year.         Now, since the Maoists have joined the mainstream. The state must not leave any stone unturned in order to make Nepal Tourism Year 2011 a grand success. The government has already formed Nepal Tourism Year 2011 organising committee which is represented by different stakeholders from both public and private sectors. It has also been decided that there will be, besides the main committee, several sub-committees to execute politics, once again tourism entrepreneurs have pinned high hope on Nepal Tourism Year 2011. Tourism sector has the potential to boost the national economy to a great extent. This is the reason why tourism sector must be dealt with due consideration. Without doubt, the country is endowed with rich stock of nature’s bounty. There are majestic Himalayas, rivers, flora and fauna, and so on. All this has made Nepal a paradise on earth, and favourite choice of foreign visitors. their task in a more organized manner.       

       Meanwhile, the way things have fallen apart, the mission seems to be rather impossible. However, the pomp and show of the event has definitely lifted up sinking mood of many people involved in tourism sector. This is a timely decision the government has taken to compensate the loss and damage Nepali tourism has incurred in the past. Unfortunately, over a decade long bloody insurgency had caused much damage to the national economy, which brought the nation to a screeching halt. The unrest and violence hit hard the tourism sector. As a result of violence and terror, many big hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and industries were forced to shut their business for an indefinite period. A huge investment in tourism sector thus went down the drain, and the country was reeling under extreme difficulty and dilemma.

      The first important thing to do in favour of Hotel and restaurant staffs frequently stage protest forcefully shutting down all business. This was seen some time ago in Pokhara, when all of the workers forcefully shut down hotels and restaurants and put forward their demands, leaving lots of tourists in utter bewilderment. This unscrupulous act of the hospitality employees forced many foreign guests to leave hotels abruptly.

        Nepal is famous for adventure tourism. Adventure activities such as rafting, kayaking, trekking, mountaineering, bungee jumping, paragliding, rock climbing, caving, and, now, ballooning have already carved a niche as a popular form of adventure activities among the visitors. Among others, sport tourism has ample scope in Nepal. Sports like soccer, cricket, martial arts and golf hold a prospect to pull a large number of spectators. The government needs to pay adequate attention to develop essential infrastructure that will be instrumental to promote sports in the country.
        There are several exotic places in the country which are locally popular for their unique ambience. But only due to lack of proper publicity and lackluster attitude of the government, many such places are left in oblivion. A new policy must be introduced to highlight such places both at home and abroad. However, it is good to see that in recent times, the locals of many village development committees have realized the importance of tourism. To reap benefit from tourism, they have begun organising tourism festivals on their own.
         At the same time, the government must work hard to make aviation policy more liberal and trustworthy. More international airlines should be encouraged to operate regular flights to Nepal. But this is only possible if a favorable environment is created in the country. Not only more airlines need to fly to Nepal, but at the same time the domestic air service must be prompt and responsible too. Unfortunately, in recent time, the domestic air service has plummeted to a new low.
         Delaying and cancellation of flights have become quite common. But what is even more surprising is the concerned authorities do not seem affected by the inconvenience the passengers have to face. They say rather nonchalantly, “Oh this is all due to heavy traffic in the air. We can’t do anything.” Nepali tourism holds a chance to grow by leaps and bounds. The only thing required is government’s true commitment to exploit the potential. Time has come for all political parties to turn away from the intra-party fracas and think of making Nepal Tourism Year 2011 a grand success.

      Over the years, Nepal has earned a bad name for embracing strikes and closures every now and then. A slight provocation is enough to call on a nationwide bandha. This deals a serious blow to the tourism sector. 　　

        The government has to work in unison with the private sector. Most importantly adequate infrastructure is of utmost necessity to develop tourism sector. The task of infrastructure development is not possible at once. It requires a substantial amount of budget and strong commitment too. In absence of this, Nepal Tourism Year 2011 may turn out to be nothing more than a hackneyed slogan.

       After agriculture, tourism sector plays an important role to generate foreign currency and employment in the country. Most importantly tourism sector supports many other sectors. This is one more reason why tourism sector can’t be undermined as it makes an important contribution to national economy.

        Tourism activities must be intensified to bail out the slackening condition of Nepali tourism. But this is not possible until peace is restored in the country. Without peace tourism sector can’t thrive at all. Nothing works smoothly in absence of peace. Unfortunately, despite having brought Maoists to the mainstream of politics, peace still seems elusive. The major political parties have failed to forge consensus leaving the nation at crossroads. It is high time that all the political parties stood together to build a New Nepal. Let’s remember, slogans alone won’t do anything. We must act with conviction. Source: The Rising Nepal