Ballav Dahal

The outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in China, the world’s largest tourist source market, has dealt a setback to the sensitive travel industry worldwide. Tourism in Nepal has remained affected badly as the northern neighbour is the second largest tourist generating market for the country. However, Nepal has been free from the virus as of now.
Because of enhanced air connectivity with China, Nepal was looking forward to receiving more Chinese tourists during the Visit Nepal Year 2020. The bilateral relations between the two physically and culturally close nations have been strengthened further following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Nepal in October last year.
The number of Chinese outbound tourists had stood at about 150 million 2018.
But, in view of current unfavourable situation, local tourism entrepreneurs have started calling for exploring other markets to attract tourists.
“We must now focus on India and the Arabian countries as it may take more time for China to return to normalcy,” said Khum Bahadur Subedi, president of Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal (TAAN).
In its bid to contain the virus, China suspended all tour groups and the sale of flight and hotel packages for its citizens headed overseas from the last week of January.
That was a welcome measure for countries that were gearing up to screen travellers from China for fevers and other signs of infection. China has now made a remarkable progress in controlling the infection. The World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as different nations have praised the Chinese government for putting in dedicated efforts to contain the virus.
Subedi said that tourism entrepreneurs had already drawn an attention of Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai towards taking an urgent initiative to carry out additional tourism promotion and
marketing activities in India and the Arabian countries.
“Minister Bhattarai has also instructed the Nepal Tourism Board and other relevant agencies to move ahead accordingly,” he said.
He further said that Nepal needed to explore other markets in order to lure tourists at a time when the country’s tourism sector was facing a difficulty. “We should also collaborate with international airlines to materialise our plan.”
With the spread of the virus in China, foreign tourist arrivals into Nepal have declined considerably. In January, international tourist arrivals dropped by 33 per cent as compared to the same month last year. Figures show that only 67,020 foreign tourists came to the country last month. In the same month last year, a total of 91,793 international tourists visited the Himalayan nation.
But the outbreak of the virus alone was not responsible for the sharp fall in the number of tourists. The country still lacks better tourism infrastructure. Besides, the destination promotion and marketing is not up to the mark.
Majority of the tourist destinations like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Lumbini currently see fewer tourists.
Lal Prasad Bhattarai, First Vice-President of Korea Tour and Trekking Operator Association of Nepal (KTTOAN), suggested that the government should intensify the process of creating necessary infrastructure and tourism products.
“With the outbreak of the COVID-19 in China and some other countries, we are in a ‘wait and see’ situation.
So, we, the entrepreneurs should also utilise the present moment for upgrading tourism facilities like restaurants and hotels and making more attractive tour packages,” said Bhattarai.
Bhattarai, who is also the managing director of J’Vill Nepal Trekking and Expeditions (P) Ltd, however, hoped that the Korean market would revive in the near future.
He called on the government to leave no stone unturned while stepping up measures to prevent the coronavirus disease in the country.
“Tourism in Nepal will revive soon if we are able to spread the message that the country is safe from the virus,” he said.
He asked the media to play their roles in a responsible manner in order to protect the country’s destination image.
Another tour operator Pramod Dahal, who mostly handles the Bangladeshi tourists, underlined the need for the government, Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and tourism entrepreneurs to make joint efforts for the survival of the country’s tourism industry at the difficult time.
Dahal, the managing director of Columbus Travels and Tours (P) Limited, asked the government to facilitate tour operators to tap both the existing as well as new tourist
source markets. He also urged the government to lay much focus on constructing infrastructure and reforming policies.
“If the adverse situation continues, the government must think of offering more incentives to the tourism industry,” he said.