‘Concentrated tourism can bring environmental disorder’

By A Staff Reporter

After four days of serious discussions on adventure and eco-tourism and business dealings among participating organizations, the 12th Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA) Adventure Tourism and Eco-tourism Conference and Mart concluded successfully on Monday evening.

Two hundred and sixty-eight participants from 29 countries took part in the conference and buyer-seller meet that was held at the premises of the Fulbari Resort Hotel, Pokhara from January 28 to 31, 2000.  

During the conference Dr. Harka Gurung, delivering his key-note speech on “Minimum Impact, Maximum Experience,” pointed out that Nepal’s tourism activities show high seasonality and regional imbalance. In all types of nature-based tourism, the visitors have concentrated themselves to certain areas thus beckoning environmental disorder.

“Tourism is, of course, a seasonal activity,” said Dr. Gurung. “But conscious design can minimize the immense gap between the peak and lean season.” These measures can be to limit number during peak season and promotional incentives for low periods.

Tourist arrivals in Nepal increased by nearly three times from 1979 to 1998. Similarly, the number of tourists came for trekking and mountaineering has doubled in the same period of time. But of the 1300 peaks that exceed 6,000 meters in altitudes, only few became the hot spot for the mountaineering purpose.

“There is also an obvious imbalance in expedition pressure by season,” Dr. Gurung pointed out. According to the officially designated climbing seasons, autumn had 57.8 percent of all expeditions. A third came during the summer and only 9.3 percent during the winter season. “Tourists opting for the high season can be made to pay more and vice-versa,” Dr. Gurung advised.

Similarly, to solve the regional imbalance, Dr. Gurung suggested about the measure to limit tourist number in crowded areas during the peak season. “There should be price differential in tourism charges between the popular and new areas and incentives to private enterprises that promote and operate new destination,” Dr. Gurung said in his key-note speech.

Chief Executive Officer of PATA Headquarters Joseph McInerney addressing the conference said that eco-tourism demonstrates that conservation is good for tourism activities and maintaining cultural and biological diversity that shares benefits for locals.

McInerney also opined that conservation is imperative. “However, we should not forget the interests of the visitors who continue to mature and search for uncharted territory,” he added. Just because Nepal has rich cultural and diverse wildlife, more and more tourists from around the globe are visiting the country, the PATA CEO observed.

Earlier, at the inaugural session, Assistant Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Narayan Singh Pun said that tourism is not only a means for enhancing economic development but also as a medium of promoting environmental awareness.

Assistant Minister Pun also said that Nepal is blessed with a range of ecosystems within easy proximity even as it offers superb opportunities to adventure lovers with every conceivable diversion.

Similarly speaking at the same function, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board Pradeep Raj Pandey said that eco-tourism activities could serve as a means for poverty alleviation if we could share its benefits to the local.

RNAC to start flights to Bangalore

By A Staff Reporter

In its bid to bring in more Indian tourists to the country, Nepal’s national flag carrier, Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation (RNAC), has announced to operate scheduled flights to south Indian city of Banglore starting from March 23, 2000 adding one more Indian destination to its air connections.

RNAC official announced this at the presence of more than 270 international tour operators gathered to participate in the 12th Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)’s Eco-tourism and Travel Mart held in Pokhara.

“Since Indian tourists comprise of more than 30 percent of the total visitors to Nepal, we have decided to fly into one more Indian city,” said Ananda Raj Acharya, incharge at the Schedule and Special Programme section of RNAC.

This announcement came at a time when  Indian tourists to the country had declined sharply due to the blocking of the schedulded flights by the Indian Airlines. The Indian Airlines had withheld its scheduled flights connecting Kathmandu with the Indian cities after the last months hijack of their New Delhi-bound plane that took off from Kathmandu.

This arrangement has been made under the present Air Service Agreement (ASA) with India, according to which Nepal can make optimum utilisation of 6,000 air seats per week.

Despite the claim that the recent case of hijack has damaged the image of Nepal as a popular honey-moon destination to the Indian travelers, large number of Indian tourists are still visiting the country. However, most of them have not entered Nepal through air route. Many Nepalese tour operators have also started to say that this would not make any long-term impact in Nepal’s tourism industry.

The additional flights scheduled to fly on Sundays and Wednesdays at 16:00 hour from Kathmandu will take two and a half hours to dirctly reach Bangalore from where it will fly back to Kathmandu same day at 19:15 hours.

The RNAC has decided to charge Rs. 10,000 Indian currency or US $ 300 (for the tourists from third countries) tentatively for two-way tickets. “This is just the introductory price. The charge may be raised after couple of months,” Acharya told journalists.

RNAC with three airplanes in its fleet — two of its own and the third one leased — has been covering 12 international destinations. Apart from three Indian cities of New Delhi, Bombay and Culcutta where it has been flying, RNAC has also been conducting regular flights to places as far as London in the west and Osaka in the east.

As the lease agreement with the China Southwest Airlines for the presently leased Boeing 757 is terminating in March, the RNAC started procedures to lease another Boeing 767 for at least two years. Clearly, the scheduled flights to the new destination depends upon the successful lease of the new aircraft.  

Forest Vacation Club at Gokarna

By A Staff Reporter

The Gokarna Forest Golf Resort is 470 acres of holiday haven situated within minutes from the Kathmandu Airport. The resort boasts of Nepal’s first and only 18 hole championship golf course designed by Gleneagles Golf Developments of Scotland, an upmarket vacation ownership in conjunction with Interval International of USA, and also a 100 room Le Meridien-a five star boutique hotel under management agreement with Le Meridien Hotels & Resorts, currently under construction.

Myth, magic and mystery are all woven into the tapestry of Gokarna. Legend has it that Gokarna is a begul or a Hidden Valley established by a Tibetan monk. Ancient Hindu and Buddhist texts also speak of Gokrrna. The natural treasures of Gokarna have been the exclusive preserve of the Klingds of Nepal from time immemorial.

Nestled amidst the woodlands and modealed on the king’s hunting lodge are the vacation club ownership cottages. These cottages with a wide variety of accommodation with 5 star comforts, will be available to the vacation club members for a period of 25 years. The entire weekly packages per annum works out to be far more economical than staying one night in any internationally reputed 5 star hotel.

Beside a Golf Club on the premises housing a bar and restaurant, the members will shortly be able to availa other facilities on the property like squash, tennis, swimming pool, video games, pool tables, trekking, biking, elephant rides and jungle trails.

An additional benefit offered to the Vacation Club Members is the tie-up with Interval International, a “Quality Holiday Exchange Network” serving approx. 1 million member in 70 countries, World wide through 33 global offices. The strategic tie-up with Interval International further opens a gateway to exotic holiday destinations for Gokarna Vacation Club members, which means an added privilege to partake in the holiday exchange programme across 1800 affiliate “quality resorts worldwide” thru Interval International.