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But there was an uptick of arrivals in 2022. Numbers for January-November 2022 reached nearly 550,000, filling up hotels in Kathmandu and Pokhara with most running at near-full occupancy during Dasain. Still, experts argue that Nepal has not been able to build enough of a portfolio in the world market as a tourist destination. Besides, the Kathmandu gateway is getting bad publicity from bloggers and influencers because of its chaos and air pollution.
“We have struggled to build a brand as a tourist country globally because of the lack of necessary tourism infrastructure inside the country,” says tourism entrepreneur Basanta Mishra. “This means our adventure tourism destinations are overshadowed by other global tourist attractions.”
Nepal has been diversifying its adventure tourism brand from just trekking and mountaineering to white water rafting, bungee jumping, paragliding, ziplines, canyoning and other sports. But sustaining adventure tourism will be a tall order in the absence of proper infrastructure or promotion in the global market.
“Nepal has never looked into its full potential as a tourism destination beyond the mountains,” says Suraj Vaidya who led the Visit Nepal 2020 campaign. “Even with mountain tourism, we have failed to look beyond EBC and ABC, when the far-western mountains have so much to offer.”
“We have to also look beyond Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. We need to look at Nepal as more than a two-season destination,” adds Vaidya. “But at the same time, we need to be careful about how we choose to develop destinations with historic significance so that we preserve and maintain the heritage that is so inherently ours.”
The good news is that Nepal is seeing improvements in tourism infrastructure over the years, especially in the hospitality sector. In recent years, more than a dozen ‘star’ hotels as well as multinational hotel chains have opened up in Nepal, with more under construction. And although new international airports have opened in Pokhara and Bhairahawa, poor planning has meant that there is almost no prospect of international flights from there. Meanwhile, it can take up to 9 hours to drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara because of congestion and poor roads.
But above all, Nepal’s tourism sector has not been a priority for planners even though they have never tired of giving speeches about its potential for decades.
“Being the only European airline flying to Kathmandu, we hope to surpass 2022 figures,” says Serkan Basar, General Manager of Turkish Airlines Kathmandu. “Tourism Ministry and private sector should be in full cooperation for the betterment of the country as a tourist destination.”
Joshi agrees: “Tourism cannot develop in isolation. There needs to be multi-level coordination between tourism institutions, concerned ministries, as well as diplomatic missions across the world to effectively maximise our tourism potential.”
Should Nepal promote high-end tourism rather than just chase numbers of arrivals? There has been no discussion on carrying capacity for various trekking areas and mountaineering peaks.
Given its topography, location and culture, Nepal should be able to sell itself. Still, promotion has been sloppy, ad hoc and inadequate — especially to China and India which are already replacing arrivals from Europe and the Americas.
Says tourism analyst Rajiv Dahal: “Nepal’s policymakers do not yet understand that reviving the tourism sector is in the country’s best interest, and that tourism will not gain momentum unless its potential is fully explored.”
Read also: Nepal’s airlines fly high despite turbulence, Nepali Times
With additional reporting by Shristi Karki
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