Tourism Sector Struggling To Recover

Even when the situation in Nepal has returned to normalcy with the formation of the current interim government, the country’s tourism sector is likely to remain affected considerably in autumn. The September 8-9 Gen Z movement has sent a negative message to the outside world that the Himalayan country has now become unsafe for tourists to travel due to political turmoil. As the protests turned violent, several foreign diplomatic missions based in Kathmandu issued travel advisories, asking their citizens to take stock of the situation in Nepal well before making their trip to the country. With such cautions, the country has received fewer foreign tourists this month as compared to the same month last year. 

What is more worrying is that a significant number of holidaymakers are reported to have cancelled their tour bookings for some upcoming months as a result of the recent political unrest. This is really a serious concern for airlines, tour operators, hoteliers and other stakeholders. As tourism is a multidimensional industry, a fall in tourist arrivals may directly or indirectly hit numerous auxiliary sectors such as handicraft, horticulture, vegetable farming, handicraft, livestock farming, dairy industry, poultry farming and other enterprises. When tourism suffers any setback, many jobs may be lost. And the government’s revenue might also go down. 

Concern

Although the contribution of tourism to Nepal’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to stand at around 7 per cent, this sector is crucial for generating foreign currencies and creating jobs. Studies have shown that the country’s tourism industry contributed Rs. 327.9 billion to the economy in 2023, while it supported as many as 1.19 million jobs. Since tourist arrivals in the country have continued to show an upward trend annually since the receding of COVID-19 in 2022, the tourism sector has been creating more jobs every year.       

Pokhara is said to have witnessed a drastic fall in the number of both international and domestic tourists since the Gen Z movement. Local hoteliers are now concerned about their business, as up to 40 per cent of hotel bookings for the upcoming months of October, November and December have been cancelled. With its Visit Pokhara Year 2025, the metropolis aims to welcome 2 million tourists by the end of this year. Pokhara is considered the country’s Tourism Capital, considering its scenic beauty, cultural diversity and tourism-friendly atmosphere. Kathmandu, Chitwan, Lumbini and several other key tourist attractions have also been struggling hard to revive tourism. Several hotels, restaurants and other tourism enterprises incurred a huge loss due to arson during the protests. Initial estimates made by the Hotel Association Nepal (HAN) show that the hotel sector alone has also suffered a loss valued at about Rs. 25 billion. Nearly 2,000 jobs are at risk of being lost. It may take months, if not years, and lots of investment for the concerned entrepreneurs to carry out maintenance of those hotels and resume their operations. 

However, several experiences have shown that tourism in Nepal is a resilient sector, as it begins recovering as soon as peace and order are restored in the country.  Tourism stakeholders are quite optimistic that the situation will change for the better in the days to come. Though a lot of tourists had to face inconveniences during the two-day Gen Z protests, they were not a target. So, more potential foreign tourists are likely to choose Nepal as their destination once the country’s law and order situation is fully reinstated. 

With its favourable climate, autumn is a major tourist season in Nepal. Being an attractive tourist destination, the country welcomes hundreds of thousands of travellers from around the world during this season alone. They include those interested in cultural tours, trekking, climbing and other adventure activities. But the inflow of such tourists has dropped significantly for security reasons. Even the mobility of domestic tourists to Pokhara and other popular destinations has fallen sharply. 

In the previous years, those destinations used to receive lots of internal tourists on the eve of or during the Dashain festival. A mass escape of prisoners from different jails across the country is one of the factors responsible for the reluctance on the part of domestic tourists to leave home during this travel time. Landslides and the bad condition of various roads and highways have also hampered the movement of internal travellers. Despite being an important and resilient sector, tourism is quite susceptible. Even a minor adverse event or dissemination of negative news could discourage prospective travellers from setting off.  Therefore, the responsible authorities must take this matter seriously and address every concern of tourists. The task of road maintenance and repairs must be done on time so as to ease the mobility of people. 

Global spotlight

As Nepal is in the global spotlight following the Gen Z movement, the federal government now needs to assure the international community that visiting tourists in Nepal are safe and sound. Such an assertion could be instrumental in enhancing the country’s image globally and putting potential international travellers at ease. Meanwhile, it is worth commending that Prime Minister Sushila Karki, while delivering her message on the occasion of the World Tourism Day on September 27, said that Nepal is a premier destination for tourists. 

No doubt, the country is rich in natural beauty, biodiversity and culture. The country is home to eight of the 14 mountains above 8,000 metres and hundreds of other peaks. She underscored the need to explore new tourist destinations in order to diversify tourism and give a boost to the national economy. It is also necessary for the government to mobilise its diplomatic missions abroad to spread the message that peace and order have been restored in the country.  

 (The author is a former deputy executive editor of this daily.)