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Surviving The Setbacks
Tourism in Nepal, it seems, have become used to suffering the setbacks. Beginning from the 1999 airplane hijack, Nepal has been subjected to vigorous negative media comments overseas owing to disastrous incidents back home. From nearly half a million tourist arrivals in 1999, the industry has witnessed steep decline by almost one half. Hotels, lodges, restaurants, tour operators, travel agents, trekking guides all are suffering from the slowdown. However, the trickling flow of tourists suggest that the industry is down but not out. Sustained marketing campaigns and effective crisis management could reverse the current trend in the short-term.
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
Amid the floods of gloomy news, there was a proverbial silver lining of the dark cloud last week when a private Thai carrier announced its intention to start flights to Kathmandu beginning March 9.
Phuket Air is to start its operation to Kathmandu beginning March 9 and it will operate thrice a week flights from Bangkok to Kathmandu and then going to Dubai.
“Phuket Air is a leading private Thai airline that is successfully expanding its reach to international destinations. Kathmandu is our 5th international destination, and we put its importance second to none,” said Khun Kanin Phuvastien, senior vice president of Phuket Air. The PA started its operations in 2001 and is currently operating a fleet of 13 aircraft.
“Phuket Air sees great potential for the Bangkok-Kathmandu route and we are very proud to be fostering growth in tourism and other businesses by offering the best service for domestic and international travelers visiting both Nepal and Thailand,” said Somchai Leetapawang, deputy director of Sales of PA. Gurans Travel is the General Sales Agent (GSA) for the Phuket Air for the Kingdom of Nepal.
This news came as a sweet surprise to the Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs who are subjected to tons of negative comments following the recent political changes in the country leading to apprehensions in some quarter of further instability.
“The operation of PA will go a long way in resolving our air connectivity problem because in peak seasons, the air seats available in Kathmandu-Bangkok sector is far less than demand,” said Tek Bahadur Dangi, chief executive of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
Tricky Times
The recent few weeks have raised apprehensions among the tourism entrepreneurs. Delegations of tourism entrepreneurs have been queuing up to meet with the government ministers asking them to introduce a relief package.
The sudden turn of events comes at a time when major tour operators of western countries have gradually started to leave Nepal out from their brochures and catalogues. “This is an especially critical time because between May and July, these companies print their brochures for the coming season. Therefore, it is utmost that we convince them not to leave out Nepal right now. Otherwise, we will have to face severe decline in tourist arrival later this year,” said Basanta Raj Mishra, president of Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO).
Already, many cancellations of bookings are streaming in and if no step is taken to address this issue, there will be little that can be done later on, adds Mishra.
Frustrated by the situation, tourism entrepreneurs have started asking government to announce special relief package. Recently, a delegation of Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) met with Finance Minister Madhukar SJB Rana and urged him to bring into effect the decision made by the previous cabinet to maintain the interest rate of 6.5 percent for loans taken by hotel entrepreneurs, review of the loan period and setting up of an industrial reconstruction fund to support the declining tourism business.
The newly appointed Tourism Minister Buddhi Raj Bajracharya has already vowed to restore the “image” of the country.
Thanks to instability, tourism entrepreneurs working outside Kathmandu Valley have been particularly hurt. Those from Pokhara have appealed to the government for special relief package to help them survive in the face of declining tourism. Since the start of the conflict, Pokhara has witnessed 40 percent slump in tourism with over one hundred hotels and lodges already pulling down shutters.
Many entrepreneurs say that since not a single tourist has been deliberately hurt due to the conflict, Nepal should still be able to attract them. “Despite all these negative publicity, I would like to clarify once again that there has not been any problem in tourism. Tourism itineraries are running smoothly,” said Tek Bahadur Dangi, executive director of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
Tourism Contribution
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According to the Economic Survey (Fiscal Year 2003/04) published by the Finance Ministry, in terms of foreign exchange earnings, earnings of this sector in the period of FY 2003/04 accounts to 27.3 percent. Its ratio to total earning from commodity export and services combined is 18 percent. In the total foreign exchange earnings, it share is 9.1 percent. In the FY 2002/03, this sector contributed Rs 11.75 billion in foreign exchange. In the first six months of FY 2003/04, it contributed Rs 7.17 billion.
According to latest data revealed by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the tourism industry earned 19 percent more in the 2003/04 compared to the previous fiscal year. According to the report, the industry earned foreign exchange worth Rs 12.93 billion in the fiscal year 2060/61 (2003/04). Income of travel agency in that period grew by 17 percent in the period. Airlines earned 16 percent more. Hotels earned 14 percent more in the same period.
In the history of tourism in Nepal, the Year 1999 remains the most successful one when a record number of 491,504 (421,243 by air alone) tourists came to visit the country. The year also marked the impressive length of stay of 12.8 days on average – which subsequently declined to less than 9 days in following years.
India continues to be an important tourist-generating country for Nepal. Over one quarter of tourists come from Nepal’s southern neighbor. Over 30 percent of tourists come from European countries and around 10 percent from North America.
“Of late, we have also started paying attention to tourists from South East Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia. Till a few years ago, these two countries used to send only 4000-5000 tourists a year. This number increased to 10,000 in 2004,” said Dangi. Perhaps, realizing the importance of this sector, the NTB organized a press meet in Bangkok last week to allay the apprehensions generated by recent developments.
Year 2004
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Despite the tumultuous events, the year 2004 ended with a small increase in tourist arrivals. Although the year hardly witnessed the revival of the sector, it did provide with a sense that consistent efforts would yield results.
The Year 2004, like many others in recent past, had been a turbulent one for Nepal as the country had to bear the continued escalation in violence, bandhs, blockades and even riots. Despite such hardships, the year had, in fact, witnessed 9 percent growth in the arrival of tourists via air compared to the year 2003.
According to the immigration office at the Tribhuwan International Airport (TIA), 2,88,356 tourists came here in 2004. The number of third country tourists grew by 13 percent in that period. Likewise, the number of Indian tourists grew by 1 percent.
The data compiled by the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) indicates that the growth in the third country tourist arrival fueled the overall growth in 2004. The higher growths were observed from France (20 percent), Germany (8 percent) and the United Kingdom (10 percent). The US market grew by 5 percent in the same period.
“On the other hand, arrivals in December 2004 has declined by 14 percent with a net loss of 25 percent visitors from non-Indian segment while the Indian arrivals grew by seven percent in comparison to the same month last year,” according to NTB.
Tourism entrepreneurs have expressed grave concerns that internal turmoil in the country has dragged the tourism industry, which otherwise would have grown handsomely.
The biggest blot on the tourism sector this year was the September 1 incident. After the killing of 12 innocent Nepalese workers in Iraq by a terrorist group called Army of Ansar Al Sunna, violent riots gripped the capital city with mobs setting the offices of Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Pakistan International Airlines, among others, to fire. The attacks against Muslims also sent a very wrong signal to the outside world. The attacks on these airlines dealt a blow to tourism as these airlines were ferrying in a lot of tourists. Fortunately, the airlines resumed their flights soon.
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| Dolpa : Natural wonder |
The incident occurred on the eve of the new tourist season and severely affected bookings. In the wake of the violent mob riots, the officials of the Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) and Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN) informed that they were concerned over growing cancellation of visits/bookings by the tourists. According to the, a number of tour operators in North America and Europe had de-listed Nepal from the tourist destination for the year 2004 due to the unrest here. These half a dozen tour operators used to send around 5000 quality tourists a year to Nepal.
“The year 2004 would have ended up very positively in tourist arrivals had the incident of September 1st not occurred. Since such incidents are rare and unfortunate, 2005 is expected to perform easy double digit growth in the light of increasing travellers’ confidence to Nepal and increasing air-links from various counties,” states NTB.
Apart from September 1 riots, the incessant bandhs, strikes and shut-downs bled the country. The blockade imposed in September and later in December also created a negative environment. A volley of negative international publicity in the wake of riots and blockades also marred the prospects of the industry.
However, there were also some positive developments in this year. The addition of flights by private Indian airlines like Air Sahara and Jet Airways commenced in the year 2004. This is expected to boost the number of Indian tourists apart from increasing the available air seat capacity.
Conclusion
Despite the difficulties, tourists are still coming to this Himalayan Kingdom lured by its natural and cultural attractions.
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| Mt. Everest : Everasting attraction |
As crises have now become a part of their profession, tourism entrepreneurs in partnership with the government would do well to chart out crisis management strategies so that the extent of damage cannot be lessoned, if not reversed altogether.
Swift campaigns to counter the negative publicity, constant efforts to promote the destination in neighborhood coupled with sheer determination to sail over the current problems would go a long way in helping the tourism sector continue to survive the routine setbacks.
One plus point the Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs have is the fact that tourism has been respected by even the parties in conflict and has been left largely untouched. This fact needs to be highlighted in order to bring in more tourists in the coming days.
TRPAP
Tapping Tourism
A project selects six districts to develop models for using the potentials of tourism for poverty alleviation
By SANJAYA DHAKAL
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| Pandey : Tourism for poverty |
Tourism has long been regarded as one such industry that has the ability to bring about direct impact on the livelihood of people living in rural areas. Because of trekking, mountaineering and tour, even people living in remote places like Solukhumbu, Rasuwa, Baglung and other districts were able to create livelihood.
But this phenomenon was largely occurring on its own without targeted strategies on the part of the government. In order to come up with targeted strategies, the government aided by UNDP, DFID and SNV, formed Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation Program (TRPAP) in early 2002.
In the period of three years, the project has done a marvelous job in identifying particular tourism destinations, cultural heritage and brand products in selected six districts of the country – Chitawan, Rasuwa, Solukhumbu, Rupandehi, Dolpa and Taplejung.
The project has three objectives – building models, setting up permanent institutional mechanisms and recommending pro-poor tourism policy/strategies.
In each of the six districts, the project has identified specific tourism models. In Chitwan, apart from existing jungle safari, the project has identified four VDC inhabited by backward Chepang community that can be exploited for culture tourism. “We have also identified areas like Siraichuli – the highest point of the district – and new trekking trails in the district,” said Rabi Jung Pandey, National Program Manager, TRPAP.
In Rupandehi, the project has identified potentials for cultural tourism in seven surrounding VDCs near the birthplace of Lord Buddha. “We have also promoted the skills of local women who are master weaver of certain handicraft items. This income-generating skill is related to tourism as these products can be sold as souvenirs,” said Pandey.
In Rasuwa, the project has identified new trekking trails and has already started the successful home-stay program in Briddim VDC. “The Chilime hydropower project built indigenously by Nepalese is itself a tourist attraction as it is built amid huge rocks,” he added.
In Taplejung, the project has identified the prospect of promoting religious tourism in Pathivara temple where tens of thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India come every year.
In Solukhumbu, the project has identified 12 isolated VDCs where new trekking trail could be explored. Likewise, in Dolpa, places like Shey Phoksundo lake and Upper Dolpa region pose tremendous potentials while a special Buddhist tribe called Bon Pu can be an added attraction to culture-minded tourists.
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Another important achievement of TRPAP is its ability to mobilize community in institution building. There are separate social mobilizers for each of the 48 VDCs of six districts recruited by respective District Development (DDC). Such mobilizers have formed functional groups in each wards with the intention of helping the poorest section of the community by bringing them into tourism-related activities.
In every VDC a separate Sustainable Tourism Development Committee has been formed where village elders, ward members, local representatives, entrepreneurs and others are members. Such committees are authorized to prepare their own plan for tourism development in their village. Likewise, in every DDC there is a separate Sustainable Tourism Development Section. In center, there is a Sustainable Tourism Development Unit in Nepal Tourism Board. “We have worked to make these units from village level to district to center inter-related,” said Pandey.
The project has already completed pro-poor tourism policy and has submitted the document to the government. The government is said to be reviewing its tourism policy to include pro-poor tourism strategies soon. Likewise, five out of six district s have already prepared their district Tourism Development Plan as well.
The project has been able to prepare a groundwork based on which people can benefit a lot once tourism industry rebounds in the country. The project will work till October 2006. “We have set 152 different activities to achieve our three objectives,” said Pandey.
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