National 1 (Spotlight Weekly)

Soaring Spirits

The charm of Mount Everest could come to the rescue of the ailing tourism sector

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

The unprecedented gala celebrations of the golden jubilee of the first successful ascent of the 8848-m Mount Everest, which brought together scores of Everesters and the international media, officials expect, would trigger the inflow of tourists in this picturesque Himalayan kingdom passing through most difficult phase in its politico-economic history.

Mt. Everest : Tourist attraction

The gathering of renowned mountaineers like Sir Edmund Hillary, Reinhold Messner, and Junko Tabei gave Nepalese a chance to celebrate something for the last eight years.

The violent insurgency, severe economic slowdown and unending political instability were pushed to the back of their minds as they lined up the streets of Kathmandu to greet the likes of Hillary passing by on horse carriage on May 27 as part of the official celebrations. "Even after 50 years since it was first scaled by human, Mount Everest continues to be a big draw. This time also the Everest has come to the rescue of the battered tourism sector," said Hari Man Lama, chief executive of Incentive Tours and an executive member of Trekking Agents Association of Nepal (TAAN).

"The Everest celebrations were just what the ailing tourism sector needed right now," said Tek Bahadur Dangi, chief executive officer of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB). "We are confident that the favorable and extensive cover of the event by international media will work towards the promotion of tourism in Nepal."

The month of May came as a pleasant beginning. A record growth after two years was observed among Indian tourists visiting Nepal by air for the month of May 2003. A total of 10,182 Indians visited Nepal for the month, a growth by 30 percent over the same period last year, according to the NTB.

Indians are regarded as the most important tourist segment for Nepal, as they cover 33 percent of total inflow. Unfortunately, since December 1999, when a New Delhi-bound Indian Airlines was hijacked by terrorists, the number of Indians visiting Nepal had been on a free fall. The anti-India riots sparked by anti-Nepal statements attributed to Bollywood heart-throb Hrithik Roshan, who denied ever making such comments, in December 2000 added fuel to the fire. The unstable domestic situation and intensifying Maoist violence and the royal massacre in June 1, 2001 took all the winds from the sails of Nepalese tourism sector that was looking vibrant and growing in 1998/99.

From the impressive figure of nearly half a million visitors in 1998 and 1999, the number dipped substantially and continuously to reach 215,922 in 2002. The drop by over 50 percent meant that a lot of tourism-related industries like hotels, restaurants, airlines suffered badly. In the last two years two domestic airlines have already grounded due to financial problems. Dozens of restaurants closed down and hotels began to give forced temporary leaves to cut down its overhead costs.

Corresponding with the fall in the number of international tourists, Indians, too, came in fewer numbers. In 1999, 146,000 Indians came to Nepal. But this figure declined to 63,000 in 2002. The NTB is currently organizing massive campaigns in bordering Indian cities like Gorakhpur, Benaras, Patna and Lucknow to lure the Indian middle class people who travel by the number of 5 million every year.

Therefore, the growth of tourist inflow by 9 percent in the month of May (compared to the same period last year) has come as very good news to tourism entrepreneurs. "It is a sign that we may be heading for better days. The tourism sector was severely battered and now we are desperate to recover," said Lama. He said that following the Everest celebrations the overseas inquiries for trekking and visits to Nepal has jumped considerably.

But the global slowdown in tourism due to terrorist threats and more recently the SARS scare continues to hurt Nepalese tourism. Despite the celebrations on May, the third country (other than India) tourist arrival was down by 9 percent. "Nepalese tourism also seems to be suffering from the global travel reluctance due to SARS. This is clear from the decline in long haul and Third country arrivals. Markets like German, Japanese, American and French are all down for the month except UK, Australia and New Zealand which performed positively," states the release from NTB.

"But with the celebrations of 50 years since the first ascent to the Mt. Everest, the historic event of Mount Everest Golden Jubilee Celebrations, Nepal's tourism got a facelift. The massive international publicity and media coverage has helped regain Nepal's tourism image back in track. This event was covered by the correspondents and journalists from international media throughout the globe like ARD, First German Television, ABC Television from USA, TV3 Network from New Zealand, NHK Japan, European Press Agency, Liberation Daily Paris, Zee Networks India, Noosa News from Australia, CNN, AFP, BBC, Reuters and number of national dailies and television. This will add up to boost tourism in Nepal by enhancing the number of tourist visiting in future too," it further stated.