Diversifying Tourism

PRIME Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba inaugurated the Mustang Festival in Jomsom, headquarters of Mustang district, the other day and called upon all travel and tour operators and others engaged in the tourism business to work more concertedly for the development and expansion of tourism industry in Nepal. Prime Minister Deuba also assured all that His Majesty’s Government was chalking out both short-term as well as long-term strategy to uplift social and economic condition of the people by building infrastructures and promoting different sectors of economy including tourism. Tourism industry is the backbone of Nepal’s national economy as it is the biggest source of foreign currency earning. In addition, it provides direct and indirect employment opportunities to a large number of people in the country. His Majesty’s Government has accorded priority to the development of tourism sector. There has been a true partnership of private and public sector in tourism industry. As a result, tourism business has grown well in Nepal. In fact, Nepal’s tourism industry is one of the success stories in South Asia. Nepal is one of the popular tourist destinations in the world. The beautiful snow-clad mountain peaks, scenic beauty, historic and cultural heritages and hospitable and friendly people are the major attractions for visitors. Many tourists visit and revisit Nepal. But their stay in Nepal is very short because Nepal has not develop necessary infrastructures and sufficient facilities to lengthen the stay of tourists. Now some efforts have been made to diversify tourism and develop internal tourism. The concept of village tourism has emerged very lately, which has helped diversify tourism. In order to diversify and promote village tourism, programmes and functions are held in different parts of the country at different times. Mustang Festival is part of this overall strategy of developing and diversifying tourism. Programmes like Mustang Festival need to be organized in different parts of the country, which would let the visitors know about the rich and diverse culture of Nepal. Nepal’s tourism industry has suffered recently due to political instability, frequent strikes and incidents of violence. Nepal has an image of peaceful Shangri-la in the international arena. But the incidents of violence have tarnished this image, which has affected our tourism industry as well. Thus, it should be the common objective and goal of all to preserve Nepal’s image and promote tourism industry for the cause of the country and the people. We need to realize the fact that if economy suffers, the ultimate victims would be the nation and the people.

Amend Faulty Laws

LIFE has returned to normalcy in Dang, Tulsipur and so have transport services after days of disruption. Even a curfew had to be imposed for days in Dang in Far West Nepal, as a mob turned violent after a bus ran over two students. Although what actually transpired is still unclear, it is alleged that the bus driver deliberately ran over the two to evade high monetary compensation. The mob then got wild and went about vandalising about 150 buses parked at Tulsipur bus park. Such incidents are nothing new. This time, however, the event in Tulsipur has caught the national attention because a curfew had to be imposed – that too for days – and it is the first time so many vehicles were vandalised over a single incident. Such ugly incidents will continue to take place as long as the law is faulty. While a bus owner must pay only a limited sum of money in the event of an accident involving death, he is bound by law to bear the full cost of treatment in the event of injuries. After so many inhuman acts played out on the roads of Nepal time and again, it is high time the lawmakers and concerned officials woke up to the reality and geared into action. While other issues concerning land reforms, education and the Maoist problem are very important, issues such as the one above cannot be brushed aside. And it is at least heartening to note that a member of the National Assembly has raised the issue and has demanded harsh laws to dissuade such inhuman acts. What is taking Nepal so long to formulate such laws is hard to say. On the other hand, the government and all those concerned also need to thrash out ways to prevent frequent disruption of transport services on highways on the smallest of pretexts. Accidents of one kind or the other are bound to happen on roads. But that is not an excuse for stopping vehicular traffic on highways. It is not only the inconvenience to passengers that is of concern. By stopping traffic on national highways, the arteries of the nation, you are actually putting the national economy at stake. Let the Dang incident be an eye opener to all and pave the way for the formulation of better laws in the immediate days to come.