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INDO-PAK TENSIONS |
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INDO-PAK TENSIONS |
Internal Impact The events in the region
are bound to deal another blow to Nepal's battered tourism industry By SANJAYA DHAKAL Reeling from the accumulated pressure of
years of adverse domestic events, Nepal's tourism industry is bracing for the fall-out
from heightened regional tensions. The increasing war rhetoric between India and Pakistan
has cast a long shadow on the region's prospects of attracting more tourists.
With mind-numbing predictions of the
scale of human casualties in case of a nuclear war splashed across major newspapers and
dominating the electronic media, one can hardly blame visitors for wanting to stay clear
of South Asia. The United States and other western nations
have issued travel advisories warning their citizens of the dangers in the region. They
have begun preparations for emergency evacuation of their citizens living in this part of
the world in case war breaks out. "These developments, definitely, are
not going to help Nepal's tourism sector, which has been going through enough
already," said an official at the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). The Indian media have reported that Indian
travel agents are having to cancel their bookings by at least 30 percent. "The scenes
of mass exodus of western nationals from India and Pakistan are going to have a very
disturbing effect on Nepal as well because of our proximity to those countries," said
an entrepreneur. Although there has not been any specific
study gauging the impact of regional tensions on Nepal's tourism, everybody feels it is
significant. "No third country traveler will plan a visit to this region at this
juncture. There are lots of alternatives for them," said a travel agent. According to the latest NTB figures,
international visitors arriving in Nepal by air in May 2002 indicate a 35 percent decline
over the same month last year. "The pace of decline, however, has softened in the
month, reflecting summer arrivals slightly picking up basically from the Indian market
segment," states an NTB release. The total number of Indian visitors in May
2002 was 7,847, representing a decline by 28 percent. The declining trend is quite low
compared to previous months. Third country arrivals, too, dipped during May 2002, by 40
percent. The American, European and Japanese markets were down by 49, 43 and 30 percent
respectively. "Improvement in Indian arrivals seems
to have been contributed slightly by the launch of the 'Fly-n-Win' scratch scheme
(launched by Royal Nepal Airlines Corporation in coordination with NTB from May 1 till the
end of July 2002, targeting the Indian market segment). The mild weather of Kathmandu was
no less an attraction to relieve Indian visitors from the scorching heat of the Indian
metropolis." Analysts say the stories of successful
ascents of Mount Everest and other tall mountains, too, have helped to an extent in
reviving the country's image as good tourist destination. The NTB states that news about Singapore
Airlines suspending Kathmandu flights from May 31, 2002, also affected third country
arrivals to Nepal during the month. "As the airlines contributes almost three percent
in bringing tourists to Nepal and arrival in summer increases even further, the news was
already resulting in a series of cancellations." Meanwhile, Nepal continues to enjoy a
considerably good image abroad. Recently, two top British newspapers - The Guardian and
The Observer - published survey findings that placed Nepal as the second major tourist
destination. The report, which was prepared after questioning 15,000 people from 180
countries, placed New Zealand at the top of the list, with 95.59 percent of respondents
favoring it as their first choice destination. Some 94.95 percent of the respondents chose
Nepal as their second choice destination. These facts suggest that once the country
sails over the present spate of untoward events, it can easily expect to hog the
international tourism limelight. Tourists Arrival in May 2002 -Australia: down 21 percent (compared to
May 2001) to 378 visitors -UK: down 51percent to 866 visitors -US: down 49 percent to 1,255 visitors -Germany: down 28 percent to 634 visitors -Japan: down 30 percent to 703 visitors -India: down 28 percent to 7,847 visitors Source: NTB |
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