New Travel and Trekking Regulations on Promoting Rural Tourism

By HARI DHAREL

Nepal 's unparalleled natural beauty, geographical diversity, affluent and lively cultural legacy as well as intimate friendly hospitality give it a distinct identity in the world. To its good name, the nation has countless treasures: snow-capped peaks including the world's highest Mt. Everest , the holy Lumbini - the birthplace of Lord Buddha, the holy sites for the Hindus - Pashupatinath and Muktinath. For nature lovers, it offers the innumerable spots of sightseeing and is able to secure a special attraction in the world tourism map.

Despite these potentials, the nation is unable to harvest the tourism benefits chiefly because of our inner conflict, inadequate policy and infrastructure. To add to these, knowingly or not, tourism scenario in the country is being degraded damaging the prevailing infrastructures, and augmenting the negative propaganda to bring the tourism industry to a steep decline in the recent years. The sector that occupied a major role in the GDP is now at a threshold of crisis.

We could naturally take a long stride if the nation could preserve the unparalleled natural and cultural heritage and return back to its calm stage. No wonder why Nepal could not attract about half a million tourists yearly if peace restores and if the negative publicity against Nepal vanishes internationally. In the world tourism market, Nepal has a prominent potential, therefore, if the government and the private hands work together, tourism can make a considerable boost to the nation's economic prosperity.

The current scenario has become more critical for the travel and trekking business considered as the backbone of tourism in Nepal as the visitors' inflow declined sharply in recent years because of turbulence and insecurity in the country. Moreover, it has badly hit the trekking segment, which account for more than 60 percent of the total visitors to Nepal . Considering the present trend of trekking packages varying from four days to three months, if the trekking routes could be diversified further and made to cover almost half of the nation's VDCs, it could promote and help develop the trekking activities in rural areas too.

Travel and Trekking Agency Regulation 2005, promulgated by HMG/Nepal recently could be quite helpful on resolving the above problems. The new regulation, which is the amendment of the 2037 regulation, has identified that this sector could be instrumental in promoting nation's tourism through an effective and proper management. Accordingly, the new provision has abolished the rule of signing the bond between the promoter and the Tourism Industry Division in the presence of the four persons including tour officer, ticketing officer and tourist guide. This is a great welcome move for the entrepreneurs. This has also checked the undue expenses of the agencies and has helped them save the time and money.

The new provision now requires an applicant, Travel Agency to make a safety deposit of Rs 300,000 and a Trekking Agency an equivalent of Rs 200,000 to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation to receive the license. The older licensee are required to raise the bank guarantee accordingly. This arrangement of bank guarantee has protected the quality service of international tour operators as well as the government's commitment to ensure consumer's rights.

The financial burden to the professionals meanwhile cannot go unheeded after the decline on tourism, although Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO) itself advised the government to raise the bank guarantee to a sum of Rs 250,000. The majority of trekking agents now demand that the amount either has to be discounted for a period of five years as the transit to tourism promotion, or the depositor at least should get its interest.

Amendment in the regulation however has a positive implication too. Accordingly now, a company has to pay a fee of Rs 10,000 for license renewal, or a default of 50 percent in addition to the fee for failing the renewal in 3 months, or a default of 100 percent in addition to the fee after 6 months, or cancellation after 6 months. Likewise, a travel agency without license has no right to deal in air tickets, or work as GSA.

The new provision have also increased the remuneration of wage earners in this occupation. Now the companies have to pay the daily wages of Rs 250 to the porter and Rs. 300 to the captain working up to 700 hundred meters height. The old regulation provided them Rs 21 and Rs. 30 only. The new wages are though much less than as recommended by TAAN. Similarly, the porter working over 3,700 m now receives Rs 350 per day. For the first time, provision of insurance is also there against a hazard to the porter. The captain accordingly has a cover of Rs 300,000 while the porter has of Rs. 250,000.

The rule also binds a travel or trekking agency to submit its financial statement to the government twice in a year - Shrawan - Poush (July - December) and Magh - Ashadh (January - June). It now prevents an agency from illegal run or tax evasion or underpaying the porters.

The new rules are appreciable if honestly implemented. The government yet is way behind to treat seriously the travel and trekking agencies that have expanded business of tourism to the difficult areas of the kingdom otherwise limited to the urban sectors only. When the rural sector holds nation's 85 percent of the population as well as holds major tourism sites, an integrated development of the country is only possible by making the destinations accessible to the tourists. The rural sector has immense tourism potential but has abject poverty. Tourism activities here can address the poverty alleviation.

Since 2001, the TRPAP programs running in the 6 districts in association with the government and donor agencies, is a giant step towards the direction of alleviating poverty through tourism. Even in this short span of time, the program has created awareness of tourism in the people as an efficiency measure, has raised an opportunity of income generation and helped built infrastructures in the areas. The positive socio-economic impact it has created should also be replicated in other rural parts of the country too. These programs in co-operation of TAAN have been able to identify new tourism destination, publicize and promote them.

Courtesy: Rural Tourism Feature – 26/TRPAP