NATIONAL 4 - (Spotlight Weekly)

‘We Have Been Running As Hard As We Can To Stay In The Same Place’

— Pradeep Raj Pandey

Pradeep Raj Pandey, is the Chief Executive Officer at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). Formerly, the Executive Chairman of RNAC, Pandey spoke to SANJAYA DHAKAL and KESHAB POUDEL on the situation of tourism in the face of recent disturbances. Excerpts:

How do you find the overall scenario in tourism, especially since the recent spate of violence in the country?

The incidents were played up very much by the media. There was a lot of negative feeling about Nepal abroad even down to the people's level. As a result, during the whole year we had a shortfall. Despite the fact that for five months during the year Indian Airlines was not operating its flights, and despite the fact that there were various political disorders and strikes, we could still maintain third-country visitors at last year's level. Besides, many airlines are continuing to add flights. At the end of it all, we suffered a net shortfall of about 10 percent among those coming by air. If you combine the tourist arrival from both by air and land, the shortfall would probably be around 5 to 7 percent.

What objectives does the NTB have in this situation?

Our objectives are very simple. We have already said we don't have a magic wand to take care of every problem at one go. Our role is to inform the people in the affected area. After the Indian Airlines fiasco last year, we went to the Indian public to tell them we are not anti-India and we had nothing to do with going against Indian visitors. We have been doing this throughout the year as far as India is concerned. For other countries also we have been doing promotional activities. As I said earlier, despite the negative publicity, the tourists from third countries are coming here, which means that somebody is doing their job. That is what we are doing. This year also we are planning to do the same. At the end of it all, what we want to emphasize is that we have to keep our house in order. The other thing that I want to say is that the tourism sector is also equally sensitive to national issues. So, when we ask the political parties not to organize a bandh or anything, our focus is, why not exclude tourism from this? We, from the industry, are willing to carry the opposition messages if we have to. Let the buses operate, let the flights come, let people transfer so that for anybody who is coming here after planning for one or two years will not have to return back with bad experience. This is important as we found that most of the publicity for Nepal is from word of mouth. We are not a rich country and we don't have resources to go heavily into international publicity. It will eat up our entire budget if we bring out four advertisements in Japan's daily newspapers. Our best advantage is the word of mouth publicity. But the word of mouth will only go if people have good experience here. We have met with all the political parties to tell this. Once people decide that Nepal is not a place worth visiting, it will require a very large amount of money, effort and time to bring the tourists back. In our talks with the political parties everybody seems committed.

How would these incidents affect tourism in the long term?

As a matter of fact, such negative things will affect only in the long term. I do not think this is affecting things much as yet. Another advantage of being an unknown country is people do not know about us as there is not a terrible amount of interest in us. So far it has not hurt us much. But since last year or so, the activities going on here, be it security or law and order, are going to affect us in the long term.

There's been talk of tourism being affected by a growing lack of security. But we see countries like Indonesia and Vietnam faring reasonably well despite their own problems. What do you say?

This is not totally correct. The glaring example could be Fiji whose entire economy depended on tourism. When problems started there last year, the entire tourism business came to a halt. They are having a very tough time bringing tourists back. Indonesia and Vietnam are countries facing similar problems. But one thing that I want to say is that everybody in Western countries, from where the tourists actually come from, knows about Vietnam and Indonesia. They don't know about us. It is easier for them to promote their country. But for us, it requires tremendous amount of money, you can't even imagine how much, to promote the country. Take, for instance, Australia. Everyone knows about Australia even in our villages. It spent more than 200 million dollars to promote the Sydney Olympics. But we do have other things to our advantage. We have the Himalayas, Mount Everest and we have people who have gone back to say Nepal is an excellent place to come to. No amount of money can achieve that. But if people continue to have bad experiences, we will lose that advantage.

How is the NTB looking at the ongoing tussle between the hoteliers and hotel employees regarding the latter's demand for 10 percent service charge?

I do not want to separate things. Everything is a part of the whole picture. Individual impact of each strike may not be as bad. But the cumulative impact, when everything is brought together, is going to create big problem over the long term.

What are the board's achievements?

I can't boast and say that whatever increase that happened in 1999 was because of my work. What we try to do is organize marketing, we have managed to create an impact in the originating countries wherever we went. People are beginning to know about Nepal a little bit more. What we have managed to do in the face of all these negative incidents is run as hard as we can but stay in the same place. Because these negatives would pull us back if we don't do our marketing. This is in the international side. In the domestic sector also we have been doing many things. This year onwards we are putting lot of efforts in identifying new tourism areas, diversifying tourism in different parts of the country. We have identified 600 new areas within 50 districts of the country after a survey done with the help of District Development Committees. We have also carried out a need-assessment plan. We had interactions in Biratnagar for eastern districts, in Kathmandu for central districts and in Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj for western and mid-western districts. We are promoting local festivals. We don't provide money to local organizers but help them in promotion through radio, television and newspapers.

The NTB board does not have its full members. Has it affected NTB in any way?

So far it has not but it will. In September the tenure of the previous board expired and a new board should have been in place. But fortunately the board had passed our annual budget and program of activities which we are following. So whether or not we have an immediate board is not relevant because we have internal audit system. But when crisis happens, for example what recently happened, we realize that something must be done. We have realized that we have to do our promotional activities all over again in India but that I cannot do unless we have a full board. My authority is limited to execute what the board has approved. Technically, I can take a plan, get it approved and implement it. But we have always maintained that this board is a private sector dominated board and if private sector representatives are not in the board, it probably does not look right to take an emergency action plan, get it approved and change the plan that was passed before. So, in order to take strategic or emergency decisions, it is going to affect us but otherwise not.

What is the annual budget of the NTB and what percentage is spent on promotional activities?

It is 120 million rupees. Till last year there was a cap put by the government which did not allow us to spend more than 10 percent of the budget in administrative purposes.

What are the preparations for celebrating the Destination Nepal Year 2002?

The plans for the Destination Nepal Year 2002 are not yet finalized. But anyway, NTB's role would be limited to marketing and coordination. That's what we are for, we do not have the resources for the development of infrastructures. The plan for the Destination Nepal Year is still being studied by the ministry. We were asked to prepare it, which we did and gave it to the ministry. Because the major part of the plan is concentrated in the development of tourism infrastructures for which the inter ministry and line ministry coordination is required. The marketing aspect of the plan, if at all it goes ahead, will be looked after by the NTB.

You said the cost of marketing Nepal in the international arena is highly expensive. Are there any alternate ways of doing that?

There are ways but we have made sure that we won't allow it. One way would be to invite film-makers, documentary-makers and news channels to come and shoot in Nepal and go back to show it. Of course, proper guidance should be there so that they will shoot the right thing, for which NTB is there. But again our policies are such that we don't encourage them. The Information Ministry requires royalties, national parks require royalties, they want to send their liaison officer who create more problem than help, police are not ready to provide security during the shooting. Our policies are such that we don't encourage non cash activities. I donët know whether I can comment or not but we made this representation to the Ministry of Finance by saying that as a matter of rule they may still keep the provision but why not make an exception and say if NTB recommends these channels certain things can be waived off. Unfortunately, nothing has happened in this direction as yet. Another way could be bringing in as many press people from around the world. But with media you have to be careful because it is not certain that everybody will write positive things only. Other than that is, of course, the word of mouth.

Do you see the need to diversify tourism in Nepal?

Yes, we feel that it has to be done. We started with the mountains first after the conquest of Mt. Everest, moved on to culture when people started to come here. Nepal was a leader in trekking and outdoor activities for others to copy now. All of these happened in 60s. From that we moved on to wildlife. So, now it might be time to identify new areas, which we are doing now. We have already identified 600 new areas. We are conducting studies with the help of VDCs, DDCs and local chambers of commerce and industry.

‘A Public Figure Has A Greater Responsibility To Reconstruct Society’

— MANISHA KOIRALA

SPOTLIGHT's Akshay Sharma caught up with Manisha Koirala on January 11 at her residence in Maharajgunj. She spoke on her childhood, stardom, the Hrithik Roshan, Nepal's youth, among other subjects.

How was your childhood?

I grew up with Susla-ama (as she calls her grandmother, the wife of the late B.P. Koirala). She's the most graceful and strongest person I have ever known. She has had a great influence on my life. I spent the most confused part of my life with her in Banaras. When I first set out to do movies, she was the only person who said, 'Do what you feel like. Don't get bogged down by what people say about your ambition in life.' I want to grow up to be like her because she's still so graceful and beautiful at such an old age. I was actually a brat as a kid. (Chuckles). I grew up in Banaras and studied in Delhi. Everybody in the family used to get up every Sunday to go to the movies.

How did you go on to become a star in the world's largest film industry?

I asked a birthday gift from my mother. I emotionally blackmailed her and asked her to take me to Bombay on my birthday. I promised her that I would be back in a week. It actually started out with the Megawool advertisement. It was just a hobby at first. I was to do 'Pheri Bhetaula' and I did not take it so seriously. My approach to acting was commercial at first, and was paid a couple of thousand rupees that winded up as pocket-money.

How do you feel about what you are today?

I was supposed to go to medical school but ended up as an actress. Meena Iyer, who is like a sister to me, helped me. She helped me meet people. I like being in front of the camera and on the stage.

Tell us something about the upcoming movie on B.P. Koirala.

They have involved me in the project. The movie is based on my grandfather. I will see to it that justice is done to portray him as he was in life. His childhood, thoughts, philosophy and life need to be studied thoroughly in order to get a better understand of him. They have given me a section in it. The film makers have already decided on a team. But time will tell how good the research and the team is. Let's see how the researchers and scriptwriters do the job of portraying him and what he believed in. Let's hope the team does a good job.

You are also active in social work. What inspired you?

I'm a very sensitive person. I can't shut my eyes and ears when other human beings are being exploited and abused. Although I have an individual career that I have to pursue, I am the kind of individual who feels for human aspirations and causes. I have become a public figure and that makes me more responsible to help properly reconstruct our society. I am currently working as a goodwill ambassador for the UNFPA, UNIFEM and UNICEF. I am also affiliated to other social issues like the campaign against women trafficking. I was a co-host at a program organized by Maiti Nepal in New Delhi when a Nepali woman came and burst into tears in my arms. I realized how exploited these women were.

Even though I knew that people were being exploited, and about problems like prostitution, I did not understand the gravity of the situation. Educating people and creating awareness can be the only answer to the problem. I attended a couple of events realizing that people wanted me to do something on the issue. At first, I had the attitude, like 'OK! I'll do the program', but then I understood the scale of the problem. These issues are hidden away in our society.

What are your plans for the future?

I have a lot of ideas brewing in my head, but there are delays at the bureaucratic level. By the time the process goes through the bureaucracy, I tend to feel dull.

What is the role of the youth in Nepal?

The youth should take responsibility for their own actions. If you are young and somebody you look up to or someone you seek guidance from doesn't give proper guidance, you end up doing something wrong. Human beings are born with the perception of what is good and what is wrong. What usually happens is that we end up blaming somebody else for the mistakes we make. But we have to realize that we are responsible for our own acts.

In Nepal, we need strong people to guide the youth. I would want the older generation to take the responsibility of guiding the youth on the right track. If the elders show the youth the right track, they will automatically follow. The old and the young have to realize that they are the two sides of the same coin.

How do you feel about the recent Hrithik Roshan episode.

I was extremely hurt by the violence in which mostly students were involved. Even if the rumor were true, would we have been able to justify the violence in which Nepalis were killed? The youth acted in a violent manner that was totally against the character of the Nepalese people. We are known for our peacefulness. Many foreigners have come to live in Nepal because they felt the people were nice. The youth may have been disappointed to some extent. And probably they were misguided. There could be so many elements behind the violence.

What are your pastimes?

I like to read. I love watching movies. I love sports. I like to spend time with my family and friends. Even though I don't have that much time I like to travel.

WORLD YOGA DAY
Disseminating The Message

When people across the world are turning to this age-old science, Nepalis continue to ignore it

By A CORRESPONDENT

While imparting divine knowledge to his friend and disciple, Arjuna, during 'Mahabharata,' Lord Krishna defined Yoga as any work that is done efficiently. Maharshi Patanjali defined Yoga as keeping one's senses under control.

As hundreds of thousands of people the world over are adopting yogic techniques for their physical well being and spiritual attainment, people in Nepal, where this ancient science is believed to have been originated, still ignore it. As a bid to reverse this trend, the first World Yoga Day was observed in a beautiful village of Palpa in west Nepal 22 years ago.

Since then, the Day is remembered to recall the yogic teaching and disseminate the message world over. "Yoga is something that we can teach to the rest of the world," said Dr. Hari Prasad Pokhrel, founder director of the Institute for Natural Health at Old Baneswore in the capital, who has been behind propagating the mission almost single-handedly.

"Yoga is the common property of the human kind and it can't be limited to certain religion only," said Pokhrel, addressing a function organized by his Institute here to mark the World Yoga Day (January 14). "There is no other way to work out balance among the living beings, life and the universe than Yoga," he said. According to Dr. Pokhrel, when there is conflict, whether in the office, in business or in house, we will not be following Yoga. "You can be a yogi spiritually even while discharging worldly responsibilities," he said. And, that is Yoga-- an ancient knowledge based on scientific system to address modern ills.