Challenges to tourism

The proliferation of begging is a direct result of the tourist presence, as are other problems like conflicts between locals and tourists and unnecessary jams and strikes. Ironically, the same technological development that has contributed so much to the tourism industry in Nepal has also created these national problems.

By Janak Dahal

Avisitor is a guest, and a guest is an incarnation of God’, this is the Nepali’s classical conviction. This statement reflects how warmly we in Nepal treat tourists and how fully we accept them during their travels to our country. This belief has been held in Nepal for a long time. In the past, travellers used to visit Nepal only from other parts of Asia, for reasons such as making pilgrimage, seeking education, pursuing social contacts, and participating in trade. After the development of industrial trade and industry in the mid-twentieth century, people from all over the world started to visit Nepal for a variety of purposes. In 1970, Nepal Tourism Committee was established and tourism in Nepal accelerated. Two years later, the Nepal Tourism Master Plan was prepared, followed by His Majesty’s Government’s establishment of Ministry of Tourism in 1973. Gradually tourism in Nepal evolved as an industry. In 1962, the approximate number of tourist arrivals in Nepal had been a mere six thousand, but it increased to about 400,000 by 1996.

The word tourism actually comes from the Latin word ‘tornus’ which means a tool for describing a circle; turner’s wheel. A tourist, we may surmise, is one who makes a circuit of an area of interest. An official modern definition for the word ‘tourist’ was supplied by the League of Nations in 1937, stating that, a tourist is a person visiting a country other than that in which he usually resides for a period of at least 24 hours. Thus, tourists should not be confused with excursionists, who are temporary visitors and generally stay less than 24 hours. Worldwide tourist growth is nearly 25-fold in the last 50 years. It has been estimated that by 2010, worldwide tourist members will reach to a level of 937 million, up from 455 million in 1990. Tourism generates around $3 trillion per year in total revenues around the world. Tourism plays a vital role in the economy of many countries. In developing countries, like Nepal, tourism is especially crucial. Yet at the same time, developing countries face special challenges in welcoming visitors from the developed world. In Nepal, one of the chief factors that draw tourists is the country’s natural beauty and ecological richness. Nepal is often fancifully described as Shangri-La, or ‘heaven on earth’. The country’s remarkable geographical diversity ranges from snow-capped Himalayas to the north, featuring eight of the world’s ten highest mountains, with high-elevation lakes such as Phewa, Begnas, Rupa and Rara to the low-lying jungle region in the Terai. Climatic conditions also vary widely both geographically and seasonally, with the monsoon bringing the hot, humid air in the summer while the dry winter features below-freezing temperatures. Vegetation zones found in Nepal include tropical deciduous, sub-tropical mixed evergreen, alpine, sub-alpine forests. Colourful birds, tigers, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and lions are some of its exotic native species. In fact, in a very small area, Nepal possesses every landform feature and natural habitat known on earth with the exception of marine coastline, coral island, and volcanic island. Tourists who come to Nepal seek close encounters with such richness, and the tourism industry has responded to the demand by providing opportunities for snorkelling, river rafting, canoeing, wildlife safaris, as well as more traditional pursuits like trekking, camping, and bird watching. Nepal hopes to become one of the world’s centers of ‘ecotourism’ joining such successful ecotourism destinations as Kenya, Tanzania, Australia, New Zealand, and Ecuador. Nepal’s main ecotourism sites are the Himalayan area, the Annapurna Conservation Area and the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park, the wildlife reserves in the southern Terai jungle, including Royal Chitwan national Park. These sectors alone are responsible for 25 per cent of tourist income in Nepal.

Promotion of these areas as ecotourism sites has increased dramatically in scope and possibilities with the introduction of the Internet. Although geographically remote, Nepal is perhaps the most ‘wired’ of all developing countries with a sizeable proportion of the population using the Internet. Such instant connection to the outside world has been a boon for tourism professionals. Internet access has proven to be the eye through which we can see the world. The 21st century is poised to become the golden age of technology, with the world becoming narrower all the time.

Unfortunately, the major benefit of Internet publicity-the resultant increase in tourist presence in Nepal- constitutes challenges as well as an opportunity. A developing country, struggling to provide for the daily needs of its own people, is ill-equipped in many ways to deal with an influx of visitors, even as the income those visitors bring is crucial to economy. In some developing countries in Asia, western tourist appetites for excess have contributed to social ills such as alcoholism, drug abuse, and the commercialisation of sex. In Nepal, perhaps a more pressing issue is environmental pollution. On one popular trekking route, from Namche Bazaar to Everest Base camp, tourists annually leave behind 400-500 kilogram of waste materials, among them imported luxury items such as beer and soft drink bottles and cans and plastic water bottles. None of these things can be recycled locally. This is only one example of a widespread problem. At the same time, tourism creates changes of lifestyle among the local people, leading to a loss of respect for their own country’s culture, heritage, and natural beauty. The proliferation of begging is a direct result of the tourist presence, as are other problems like conflicts between locals and tourists and unnecessary jams and strikes. Ironically, the same technological development that has contributed so much to the tourism industry in Nepal has also created these national problems. Western people have a greater extent of freedom for utilization of their rights. They are allowed to expose greater part of their body, which is against our traditional Nepali culture. We can observe especially the Nepalese youths wearing the unusual dresses in the name of fashion even though they may not be matching the climate and season. People cannot directly accept those fashionable clothes, as they are too short and transparent. Likewise, tourists tend to allure teen-agers and fulfil their sexual interests too.

Although tourism is important to Nepal’s economy, it cannot solve all the country’s difficulties. To overcome all these problems we need more international financial aid as well as technical assistance. The tourism industry alone cannot provide all the funds. The combined effort of individuals, the government, and non-governmental bodies is required to solve these issues. At the same time, Nepal’s tourist industry is still in its infancy, and there is much we can learn about how to build an industry that will benefit, not damage, Nepal. As a nation, we should be alert enough to copy only the good aspects of tourism from other developing countries, avoiding the pitfalls. We must conserve our natural and cultural heritage, while building the industry and encouraging more visitors to come to Nepal at the same time. This can be done by launching various programmes aimed at strengthening our culture and heritage. Nepal is a country having ‘unity in diversity’. Lifestyles of people in Terai, the mountains or the hills are remarkably different from each other. Organizing cultural programmes, beauty pageants etc are the appropriate ways to advertise our traditional dresses, lifestyles and so on.

Tourist arrival in Nepal has declined to some extent due to the increment of the price of trekking permits. Recently tourists in Thamel were compelled to pay excessive entrance fee. Though the local people have raised voice against this act, the concerned authority should think about it beforehand, to maintain the flow of tourists. We should not throw garbage everywhere. Instead, we should keep our city and towns clean to ensure that tourists continue to be attracted by this destination. In the same way, some part of the tax collected from tourists should be used to establish a fund for the preservation of traditional culture. Such a plan was the goal of the Tourism Board during the campaign ‘Visit Nepal 1998’, as a centre of tourism within South Asia. Increased rate of tourists arrival and the increased rate of their stay, tourists unlimited interests in Nepal’s natural beauty has encouraged the government of Nepal to hold such a programme titled ‘Destination Nepal 2002’. This is the campaign to be organised in the near future and the government of Nepal is planning how to make it successful. At the same time, the government is also aware of the mistakes committed during the former campaign.

If properly planned, tourism in general and ecotourism in particular will not only boost the Nepali economy but also help in the conservation of nature. The letter of agreement exchanged between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) states that, the protection, development and improvement of the various constituents of the environment of man are among the basic conditions for the harmonious development of tourism. Similarly, intelligent management can contribute in protection and development of cultural heritage of mankind as well as the improvement of the quality of human life.

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