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| Kathmandu, Saturday March 22, 2003 Chaitra 08, 2059. |
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US-Iraq war another blow to
Nepali tourism industry
Post Report
KATHMANDU, March 21 : The US-led war against
Iraq has been cited as another misfortune for Nepali tourism industry, which has recently
begun showing signs of revival, after going through its worst ever days during the past
three years.
"As almost half of Nepal bound tourists are
from Western countries and a significant number come through the Gulf, it is likely that
the number of European and American tourists can go down considerably if war prevails for
longer time," says Dipendra Purush Dhakal, former tourism secretary.
Dhakal, who hopes that the war could end in a
short period adds, "None of the pleasure-seekers prefer to fly through the war-zone.
As most of the western countries have already barred their citizens from travelling to
Gulf-states, Nepali tourism sector can be affected adversely."
Currently four carriers fly through the
Gulf-states and all the airlines have pledged for regular operation of Nepal flights from
the normal routes and existing schedules. While Qatar Airways and Gulf Air link Nepal
directly with the Gulf countries, the Transavia Air and Austrian Air come from the
European sector through the Gulf.
These four airlines jointly bring almost 13 per
cent of the total tourists to the Kingdom. As these airlines carry passengers mostly from
Europe and America, half of the total arrivals from America and Europe, come through these
airlines. According to the government statistics, of the total tourist arrival 38 per cent
are Europeans and 12 per cent Americans.
"In such war-situation, the frequency of
travels of Europeans and Americans will, not just be lower in Nepal, but would decline
worldwide," says Joy Dewan, President of Nepal Association of Travel Agents. However,
he adds, had the air routes not been diverted, the impact would not be that severe.
Dhakal meanwhile, says it would be the
psychological factor that will reduce the number of travels of the European and American
tourists. Neither the country nor the families of the aspirant tourists approve of letting
them fly over war-zone. In such situation, the world tourism sector will be affected, he
adds.
"Nepal’s tourism sector will be driven
by the international tourism scenario," Dhakal added saying that the inflow of
European and American tourists will begin to increase with the rise in their travel to the
rest of the world.
Meanwhile, the officials of the Qatar Airways
and Gulf Air express hope that the number of tourists coming from these sectors may not
decrease, as none of the connecting flights to the rest of the world has been re-routed or
withdrawn.
"At a time when several international
airlines are withdrawing their services from Gulf countries, there are also chances that
our airlines can attract more passengers as usual during the period," says Gyan
Amerasinghe, Area Manager for Nepal of the Qatar Airways.
Nepali tourism sector, after performing its best
in 1999 with the arrival of almost 500,000 tourists, began witnessing downturn by the end
of 1999. The total tourist arrival showed a decline of over 20 per cent every year since
then. The total tourist arrival during 2002 was just 265,000, which is almost half of the
target set by the campaign Visit Nepal Year 1998.
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