NATIONAL 4 - (Spotlight Weekly)

‘Foreign Carriers Can Help Promote Nepal In A Big Way’

— JAY DEWAN

Jay Dewan, 40, is among Nepal's most dynamic tourism entrepreneurs. A graduate in business management from London, Dewan possesses wide knowledge of Nepal's tourism sector, as he operates a travel agency and is also involved in the aviation sector. The managing director of Zenith Travels, Dewan is also the general sales agent (GSA) of Qatar Airways, Sri Lankan Airways, Sahara Airlines and the representative of Dragon Air. Dewan spoke to KESHAB POUDEL and SANJAYA DHAKAL on the prospects of the tourism industry in the backdrop of recent disturbances. Excerpts:

How do you see the present state of tourism in Nepal?

The present state of tourism in Nepal looks quite dim. This season has been quite bad for the industry. We had to face many problems, like the bird-hits in the airport, the strike called by Hotel Association of Nepal and the unions. Because of the media, the world today is very small. News - especially bad news - travels very fast. That is the reason why we do not even have to tell tourists there is a strike in Nepal. Before we tell them, they get the news on the Internet. This is affecting the tourism industry a lot.

Have you received cancellations of tour groups in the past few days?

I operate tours myself. My main involvement is in aviation, but my company also operates tours. I have heard that many tour operators have received many cancellations, I personally, too, have received such cancellations, which is very bad for the industry.

How do you find the country's security situation and its impact on the industry?

As far as the security at the airport is concerned, they have taken many measures after the Indian Airlines hijacking last year. However, in terms of the country's law and order, that is also affecting the industry. Because when people come here, they may not feel secure. Most of the holidaymakers do not want to take any risk on their holidays. That is why law and order is very important for the tourism industry.

Tour operators are concerned by the deteriorating law-and-order situation. On the other hand, foreign carriers like Qatar Airways and Thai Airways have increased their flight frequency to Kathmandu. How do you explain this?

There has always been a big demand for Nepal as far as inbound tourists are concerned. We have increased the flights because of the demand. On the other hand, we have always been hoping that the government maintains law and order in the country. Compared to the last season, the growth of tourism has been a bit slow. Though we do not yet have conclusive data on tourist arrivals, I personally think that it has dropped quite a bit.

How do you assess the present tourism policy of the government? How supportive of tourism entrepreneurs is it?

Compared to the past, we are quite happy with the government's policies. We are trying to promote Nepal all over the world with the help of important carriers operating into Nepal. Foreign carriers are selling Nepal as one of the major destinations through their network. The foreign carriers, I must say, have big contribution to the tourism industry here. More than marketing, we should be giving more facilities to these foreign carriers. With their help, we can promote Nepal in a big way.

Qatar is one of the big foreign carriers operating in Nepal. What are your experiences as its GSA? And how is the airways' booking for the new year?

We are also preparing for Destination Nepal as announced by the government. We have started selling Nepal through Qatar Airways' network around the world. The response actually looks very good and we hope we will be able to generate more traffic than in the past. But the thing is, again, before we invite guests, we have to prepare ourselves. We have to keep our house in order first. Promoting Nepal is not a big deal, as we already have been doing this. We are confident we can generate more traffic. That is why Qatar Airways has applied to the Civil Aviation Authority for permission to operate more flights. At present, we are operating daily flights. We are planning to operate 14 flights a week in the near future. Even if that does not work out, we will definitely operate 10 flights a week. That announcement has been made by the head office of Qatar Airways. This, itself, is evidence that there is a market and there is a demand.

Tourism entrepreneurs are projecting a bleak picture of the industry's future. What do you say?

We do not know what is going to happen tomorrow - and that really worries us. As long as the government is stable and can maintain law and order and concentrates on building infrastructure, the future is fine. Everything depends on the government - how they guide us. It is very important for the government to look into these problems.

What about the role of political parties in the opposition?

We cannot look only to the government. John F. Kennedy once said "Ask not what the country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country". We have to work as a team. It is not a question of the party in power alone. We need the support of opposition parties, too. If the opposition continues with strikes, that will definitely affect the industry. Without the support and help of opposition parties, we cannot be successful in generating more traffic.

What steps are needed to increase tourist volume?

Again, this depends on marketing. We now have a tourism board in which the private sector and the government work hand in hand. We have to do more marketing and have plans lined up to penetrate into new markets. Therefore, I think we should have a proper plan and work with airlines operating here to increase the tourist volume.

Are you satisfied with Nepal Tourism Board? Could it have done anything more?

Nepal Tourism Board is trying its best. The board has worked with Qatar Airways in the past. We had programs in the United Kingdom, Germany and elsewhere. They also have their limitations. As I already mentioned, we have to work closely with the government and with the airlines - this is not the age of working individually. The board can achieve something by working hand in hand with other organizations.

As marketing Nepal in the international arena is quite costly, how do you think we should work in this direction?

In fact, we are already working on this. If you cannot afford marketing overseas, there are other ways of doing that. What we can do is organize familiarization trips for people from different countries where we see the potential of selling Nepal. We should invite big tour operators from abroad along with the media people from those countries as guests. We can give them product knowledge, they will see Nepal and go back and promote Nepal. That is one very good way of marketing the country abroad.

What are the major issues and challenges before airline operators?

I am not trying to flatter the Civil Aviation Authority. As far as the authority and the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation are concerned, they are beginning to get more liberal. In the past, there were many bottlenecks and they were heavily protecting the national carrier. Therefore, we got the message across to them that they should put the national carrier in open competition, whether it dies or survives. And that they should encourage more foreign airlines to operate here. Nepal being a land-locked country, the airlines have much significance, and that is why I say it is very important for the government to give more facilities to airlines. They should increase air-seat capacity, air-service agreements and upgrade the facilities at the airport. The current facilities are fairly satisfactory as per Nepalese standard. Of course, we cannot compare ourselves with the standard of Hong Kong or Singapore. And they are indeed on the verge of upgrading facilities at the airport.