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.
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