Tourism Mixed Bag in Nepal

Raju Gandharva is a player of traditional musical instrument called Sarangi. He roams around Thamel area playing melodious tones and looking for tips from generous tourists.

This year while statistics have shown that record number of tourists – over half a million – came to Nepal, people like Gandharva are not too encouraged.

"Yes, there were tourists. But I could earn only as much as to feed myself," he said.

Similar is the response of small and medium traders in Thamel – the important tourism hub in the country.

Surendra Bajracharya, a trader of pashmina shawls, said that though increased numbers of tourists have come, their businesses have not flourished.

"It is true that the number of tourists have increased. More tourists have come but they come to Kathmandu and immediately leave for trekking or for other places, return back and then head to their home country. They have not been spending money in shopping," Bajracharya rued.

Sharing his sentiment, trader of handicraft and thanka items Arjun Kumar Shrestha said, "There has not been marked improvement in our sales as we had expected due to the revival of tourism."

"Quality Tourism"

One of the problems of tourism in Nepal, as pointed out by Nepal Tourism Board's director Subas Niraula, is the lack of tourists who spend much. Niraula said that on average, a tourist stays for nine to ten days and spends around $50 a day – which is quite less.

It is important, he says, to lure more tourists who will spend more. "Right now we have just reached base camp in terms of attracting tourists. After years of slump, tourism has finally recovered. This is a major psychological victory for all of us. In the coming days we will need to promote tourism in a manner so as to maximize our economic benefits," he said.

The tourist arrival has set a new record in 2007 by reaching half a million mark. While over 360,000 tourists came by air, around 150,000 came by land route.

Earlier, it was in 1999 when 491,000 tourists had come to Nepal. The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has come out with a statement saying that the year 2007 saw growth of 27.1 percent in the arrival of tourists by air. The board has said that in the month of December alone, the arrival grew by 13 percent.

The NTB statement says that the arrival figure for 2007 reached 360,350 - an all time high since 2000 and against 283,516 in 2006. "In 2000, the number of visitors arriving Nepal by air was 376914. Since then, it has continued to plummet due to various socio-political reasons," the NTB statement says.

"One of the main reasons for inspiring growth in 2007 in tourist arrivals is the ongoing peace process and political stability in the county. Another reason is the good air connectivity with many destinations ushered in by the operation of nine new international airlines to Nepal in 2007," it says.

The board has expected that the year 2008 will be very promising for Nepalese travel trade "as more new airlines are coming and existing airlines are also extending their flight frequency to Nepal."`

source:http://www.mediaforfreedom.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=8671