Tourism management in Nepal

Tourism is the movement or travel of people from one place to another; whether it is within their own country or to other countries, for pleasure, business, pilgrimage and other purpose. The evolution of tourism dates back to ancient times. In Nepal, tourism, despite having a long history was, developed since 1950s only. The recent trend of tourists' arrival in Nepal seems satisfactory. However, from the perspective of tourism based resources and its availability in the country seems rather pessimistic. To promote tourism sector and its contribution to socio-economic sector of the country, we need to utilize available resources properly and beneficially. For this, there is need of dynamic and tourism friendly policy and joint effort of the government and the private sector as well.
                    Nepal is one of the destination for many tourists of the world. The Snowcapped mountain peaks, the green forests, the rushing torrents, the deep gorges, the roaring falls, the tranquil falls, the fine flora and fauna, the antique and artistic temples attract many people to this country. Tourists from any part of the world are free to visit Nepal. Which was not so easy before 1950 due to autocratic Rana rulers. But the advent of  democracy has opened its doors to all people of the world. Among the different destination of the world, Nepal is the one which shouldn't  be missed.Furthermore, Nepal is celebrating it's grand tourism year in 2011 A.D. People of Nepal kindly welcome the tourists from any part of the world.Besides the death and destruction, last month’s earthquake has dealt the most devastating blow to Nepal’s tourism industry. Hotels are damaged, trekking routes have been wiped out, and Kathmandu’sWorld Heritage sites lie in ruins.

In the first weeks after the disaster, flights out of Nepal were full of tourists, then came the cancellations of booking, not just for May but for the rest of the year. Many hotels in Thamel have zero occupancy, although some of the bigger hotels have relief workers, aid agency representatives and crew of rescue flights. Despite this, tourism entrepreneurs, experts and officials believe that the impact of the Gorkha Earthquake will not be long-term, and such is the draw of Nepal, its mountains and people that tourists will start coming back from the autumn season. In fact, this newspaper has started a social media campaign #VisitNepalAutumn2015, advising those who want to help Nepal to come here, go on long treks, use homestays and help create jobs.After the earthquake, several countries warned their citizens not to visit this country except if they were involved in rescue and relief. Today, Thamel wears a deserted look, the Everest Trail and other trekking routes are abandoned, and even Pokhara, where there wasn’t much damage, is largely empty.

Hotel owners, trekking companies and travel agents say tourism may actually start picking up even during the monsoon, since that is the ideal time to visit Manang, Mustang and Dolpo, which are in the Himalayan rainshadow. Tibet-bound transit tourists would also be making stopovers, as in previous years.“Nepal has a niche adventure tourism market and that category of visitors will not be deterred for long,” says Yogendra Shakya of the Hotel Association of Nepal (HAN). “We just need to spread the word that our infrastructure is intact and ready before the autumn season.”But he admits that there will still be residual hesitancy about visiting Nepal. “No matter how well we promote Nepal’s tourism and say all is well here, they will still have their doubts,” he says, stressing on the need for a creative promotion strategy. The government has already formed a Tourism Recovery Committee in partnership with HAN andTrekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) to repair damaged trekking routes, heritage sites and promote safe tourism destinations.

"Rebuilding the nation will automatically help revive tourism," says Sangita Shrestha of Dwarika's Hotel, which has opened a camp in Kathmandu for 326 displaced people from Sindupalchok. The hotel is designing special promotions for visitors from South Asia.

The earthquake was just the latest in a series of disasters to hit Nepal. Last year’s Everest avalanche killed 16 climbers, and the Annapurna blizzard in October left 80 people dead including foreign trekkers. Despite this, a record number of tourists visited Nepal in 2014, boosted by an influx of visitors from China and India.

Tourism has a capacity to heal itself, the only question is how will the Nepal Tourism Board and the government deal with the necessary international promotion to bring visitors back in 2015 and beyond