Business News

July, 2004

Tourism

Strategy for 3.7 million jobs

The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) organised an industry seminar on Wednesday 23 June at which the new Marketing Strategy for Nepal 2005-2020 was endorsed by a wide range of tourism industry interests. Written by Robert Travers who has been employed by UNDP as Marketing Adviser to the Nepal Tourism Board and TRPAP for the past year, the strategy outlines ambitious targets for future growth and job creation. It expects to create 3.7 million jobs in tourism sector by 2010.

After examining the current tourism performance, how Nepal has been marketed in the past, the strategy, produced through the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Programme (TRPAP) suggests targets for future growth. The detailed strategy looks at which markets Nepal should invest its marketing resources in, and what the role of NTB should be.

Analysing the current tourism performance, the strategy paper concludes that growth is possible in Nepali tourism industry despite the ongoing political unrest. However, exploiting the full potential of Nepal’s strong tourism product does require peace.

It points out to an urgent need to market Nepal in a professional and concentrated way in order to impact an increasingly competitive market and re-capture lost business, but laments at the significant gaps in research data on Nepal’s tourism performance and complains that the investment in market research is very low.

Reaffirming that India is Nepal’s most important source market in terms of numbers and the ability to address uneven seasonality, the paper says Japan is Nepal’s second most important market in terms of numbers, and which importantly attracts higher spending tourists. Similarly, it identified the United Kingdom, France and Germany as consistent producers of high spending, long haul tourism, while China and South Korea are identified as having long term potential.

Pointing out the declining length of stay and low hotel occupancy as the issues of concern in Nepal’s present tourism scenario, the paper notes that business and pilgrimage tourism are less affected by the recent downturn in the country’s tourism.

Advising that the uneven seasonal distribution of tourism is a challenge which marketing and product development must address, the paper suggests developing better access both internally and externally as a priority for tourism development.

Reviewing the marketing efforts of Nepal’s tourism, the reports states that the establishment and maturing of NTB creates an opportunity to strategically direct the marketing of Nepal as a tourist destination. One of the suggestions is to create and consistently apply a branded approach to destination marketing. It has also pointed out the need for NTB to become more outward looking in its marketing and planning of marketing (looking to the needs of the international travel trade and the consumer) and to develop marketing partnerships with international tour operators and main market carriers.

Marketing Strategy for Nepal’s tourism industry

# A significant increase in marketing effort is needed to make Nepal’s tourism industry more viable and increase its economic contribution to the economy.

# There are three overall marketing objectives:

# To recover and expand the overall volume and value of tourism to Nepal, by concentrating on the country’s inherent product strengths, its Himalayan location, unique culture, climate, history, natural environment and friendly peoples.

# To reposition Nepal firmly as a varied and multi-faceted destination, with world class cultural tourism and special interest tourism products, in addition to reclaiming Nepal’s position as one of the world’s leading destination for nature and adventure; and

# To improve the seasonal and spatial distribution of visitors within Nepal and foster the growth of new tourism areas.

# Nepal’s positioning will be based around the variety of product which it can offer in the Himalayas.

# A strong Nepal tourism brand will be developed.

# The marketing strategy will focus on five product clusters as follows:

# culture, traditions and people;

# cities and leisure;

# outdoors and adventure;

# religion and pilgrimage; and

# weather and well-being.

# The marketing mix will include the following:

# public relations;

# identification and targeting of relevant tour operators in key markets;

# advertising;

# travel trade and press familiarisation visitors; and

# internet marketing and direct mail.

# Special interest marketing will be introduced targeting meetings, conventions, incentives and events, niche products and sport.

# Key markets to be targeted have been categorised as main volume markets, main value markets and developing markets. India and emerging Asian markets will receive attention in addition to the traditional Western markets.

# NTB’s marketing department will be re-structured to deliver the strategy and its research function strengthened.

It is estimated that with this strategy and with an increased NTB marketing budget of $5 million per annum, numbers would rise to three quarters of a million visitors by 2010. This means that 3.7 million jobs in Nepal could be supported through tourism by 2010 and 7.4 million by 2020.

A greater spirit of co-operation and joint marketing needs to be developed in the private sector, states the report, adding that the adoption of a Nepal brand can create an opportunity for this.

The Board’s country focus in terms of marketing activities needs to pay greater attention to high value markets, states the report and adds that an uncertain and under-resourced national tourism marketing budget is a critical barrier to tourism growth.

The marketing strategy developed in the paper aims to meet the government’s target of achieving over half a million visitors by 2006 and to double visitor numbers by 2009 as a step towards that end.

“A key objective will be to improve the seasonal and geographic spread of tourism and to highlight pro-poor tourism product, where marketable,” it states, adding “after 2010, visitor projections are highly speculative and the urgent need for a comprehensive spatial tourism development and investment strategy is highlighted.”

The need for ongoing research into visitor expenditure and regional occupancy is highlighted in the report.

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