New Mountain Tourism Policies Any Takers?

By Navin Singh Khadka

Preoccupied tackling the political crisis in the country, the government could have well ignored the tourism industry. But, it hasn’t. Not in paper works, at least.

It has rather made series of significant liberal decisions after the Maoist insurgency intensified in the Kingdom in the last one year.

On the focus of the liberalized policy is mountain tourism. First came the opening of the new mountains for climbers and reduced royalties for expedition on many peaks. Then came the declaration of converting restricted areas into trekking areas.

And very recently, mountaineering was declared open throughout the year unlike in the past when it was allowed only during spring, summer and autumn seasons. What’s more, the royalties of popular peaks like Mount Sagarmatha (Everest) have been fixed in a new way, the government claims, to rope in more and more expedition teams.

The decisions come just when the world is observing the current year as the International Year of Mountains (IYM) and the Eco Tourism Year — both the international events declared by the United Nations. This is also the year the country is celebrating the golden jubilee of the first human ascent on Mount Everest.

It has been 50 years since Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary became the first humans atop the highest peak on the earth.

Going by the increasing popularity of the Nepali mountains, the government’s priority on mountain tourism is well-justified. More than 30 per cent of the annual tourist arrivals — recorded at around 500,000 in 1998 — are either trekkers or mountaineers.

Only recently, there were 54 climbers on a day atop Mt. Sagarmatha on May 16. And what brought Nepal’s mountains in the international limelight once again were new generation Norgay and Hillary.

Norgay’s grandson Wangchuk Tenzing reached the highest point on the earth on May 16 while Hillary’s son Peter Hillary scaled the pinnacle of Mountain Sagarmatha on May 25.

The unanswered question, however, is: Will the new policy to uplift mountain tourism hit the bull’s eye? The question becomes even more relevant at a time when tourism is at its worst. The first five months of this year have recorded almost 50 percent decline in tourist arrivals compared to the corresponding period last year.

With the ongoing state of emergency and the Maoists fighting the government, almost every country — that is Nepali tourism’s potential market — has warned its citizens against the “risks involved while travelling in this Himalayan Kingdom.”

Worse yet, the suspension of Singapore Airline’s operation to and from Kathmandu beginning May 31 this year has sent yet another devastating signal in the international market.

In effect, tourism-based businesses including hotels and travel agencies are sharply slashing off their staff.

Bearing the brunt of the bust in travel trade, tourism entrepreneurs have begun to feel the need of what they call “crisis management”, while the officialdom has commissioned a foreign consultant of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) to prepare a master plan for the national tourism industry.

“But we have had many such master plans in the past,” says Tek Chandra Pokharel, a seasoned travel entrepreneur who is also a member of the National Tourism Council. “What we now need is the implementation of the prepared plans and a crisis management plan.”

The crisis management could well include ideas like segregating Maoist-infested areas from the normal routes for tourists’ holidays, experts say. “The new itineraries should clearly spell which are trouble free areas where tourists can go without any fear.”

The officialdom’s current publicity says that Nepal, as a whole, is a safe destination. Any taker for such a statement? Especially when international media — both print and electronic — have been frequently reporting on the ongoing military operation against Maoists at different places across the Kingdom?

“It is time to promote ourselves reasonably,” say tourism associates. One such idea is of Tripple Gurung, a commercial pilot who is involved in promoting Manang in the Annapurna region.

The chairman of a youth association in this Trans-Himalayan tourist destination, Gurung is soon declaring Destination Manang Year 2004. “We will soon brief the national and international media about this event and also the fact that Manang is one of the safest destinations in Nepal.”         

How about adopting similar strategy for other safe destination across the Kingdom? Toward that end, if only the international tour operators are persuaded honestly, it could be a big bingo for the troubled travel trade.

“At such critical period, taking international tour operators into confidence is the wisest move,” says Basanta Raj Mishra, another veteran tourism entrepreneur. “At difficult times, the human touch like that of international tour operators prove to be far effective than depending only on The Internet.”

If that is the last resort, it’s show time. Or else, the national tourism industry will miss the bus ... for ever.

(Khadka is an economic journalist specialized in tourism and water resources)