FORUM (Spotlight Weekly)

‘Nepal Must Market Itself More Vigorously Around The World'

— STEFAN W.VOOGEL

STEFAN W.VOOGEL, general manager of Soaltee Crowne Plaza, arrived in Nepal seven months ago from Indonesia. A Dutch national, Voogel has been in Southeast Asia for more than 13 years. He spoke to SPOTLIGHT on the challenges before Nepal's tourism industry. Excerpts:

In recent years, Nepal has seen many difficulties in the tourism sector. This year, too, is likely to be troubling for the country. How do you assess the future of Nepal's tourism industry?

The future of Nepalese tourism is bright and, in fact, it is extremely good. Of course, the cumulative effects of several incidents, including the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight in 1999 followed by the Hrithik Roshan incident and Royal Palace massacre, have taken their toll. The September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States is the latest of the blows. However, Nepal has so many things to offer visitors. It is a truly exotic destination.

How can we change the situation?

Change will depend on how Nepl markets itself internationally and how accessible it can make itself. First, if you look at it from the perspective of marketing, Nepal is not being marketed in the way it should be. In other words, it is not aggressively done. As far as accessibility is concerned, people who want to visit Nepal are on waiting lists. Hotels are half empty and most of them are distressed, but people are on waiting lists. Obviously, more needs to be done in such areas as open-sky policy. The recent problems are just six months old, but getting a ticket to Nepal has been a problem for long. Nepal has so many natural, cultural and other products to sell internationally. The hospitality of Nepalis is world famous. If you talk about the countryside, there are so many cultural treasures, scenic beauties and varieties of ethnic groups. But, obviously, Nepal needs to evolve concrete policies and become not only a destination for back-packer but for other tourists as well. I also mentioned this in a recent PATA meeting [and sought to compare] what other countries did when crisis hit them. All the countries started vigorous marketing. Political instability is, of course, affecting tourism, but if Nepal starts vigorous marketing, the situation will change. In my opinion, marketing is extremely important and the country needs to address this urgently. Marketing needs to be supported by other elements, including expansion of air-seats.

What can Nepal learn from countries like Sri Lanka, which has been able to attract tourists despite a civil war?

I have traveled to a number of countries to promote Nepal and I find that Nepal lacks marketing. Awareness about Nepal is very poor. I was in Southeast Asia for several years, where information on Nepal is very insignificant. If you want to bring change, you must market Nepal. The political situation will influence tourism, but it is not the only factor. If you do good marketing, people will continue to come. Sri Lanka's marketing is very strong and vigorous. Despite the war in the north and east, tourists still come. At present, the number of visiting tourists is slightly lower. Immediately after the attack at Colombo Airport, the Sri Lankan government instantly launched an aggressive and vigorous marketing campaign.

What role has international hotel chains like Crowne Plaza been playing to promote tourism in Nepal?

As a multinational company, we have over 3,000 hotels around the world. We are trying to create awareness around the world through our marketing. We have regularly sent various marketing packages that help create awareness. We try our best to promote the image of Nepal abroad. As a multinational company, we work according to international standards. It is very important for travelers to know that Kathmandu has hotels of international standard like ours. Different types of tourists come to visit Nepal and they find hotels as per their choice. A number of tourists like hotels with international standard. In case of international conferences and seminars, the guests always prefer us. Obviously, our company is playing a role.

Nepal's hotel industry has faced three consecutive years of crisis. Do you think it can survive prolonged difficulties?

In any crisis, the strong will survive. If your business philosophy is weak, you cannot survive. Possibly, there will be a difference because of this. There is a need for a coherent philosophy and strategy to survive. You actually know how strong your philosophy and strategy are during times of crisis. I strongly believe that the tourism industry in Nepal would survive. The recent phenomenon is worldwide. Even an organization like Swiss Air can face near-bankruptcy. The case also sent out a message that you need to have a strong strategy. The tragic events in the United States have created more panic in the airlines industries. Some companies may be victimized by the crisis.

You have been in Nepal for the last seven months. How do you see the response of policy makers to tourism?

All of them are very much concerned about the crisis. Everybody is willing to do something to bring change. I do feel that there is a sense of urgency in the trade. The only area where I have not seen sufficient concern is in increasing accessibility to Nepal. Nepal needs to have additional flights to bring in more tourists and to solve the under-capacity crisis. The open-sky policy is not taken seriously.

What are the prospects for foreign investment in Nepal?

I am not an expert on foreign investment so I cannot give you details. Foreign investment comes to a country for a variety of reasons, including natural resources, easy access, good labor force, stable political and security situation and tax relief. The political and security situation in Nepal is now relatively unstable and accessibility is question mark. Because of the political and security situation, there is difficulty to deal with labor force. Tourism can play a bigger part in Nepal. I think the contribution of the tourism sector in the GDP can be increase by many folds. The current progress is not enough. The development of tourism needs to be expanded to many other parts of the country. Development does not mean building Disneyworld, but to expand destinations. Many areas are still underutilized.