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Nepal's Tourism
Potential
Nepal is a beautiful and unique country with lots of
interesting and fantastic places to see and feel, both for those who love
indoors and the outdoors. Gifted with eight of the top 10 highest mountains in
the planet Nepal has unique natural ornaments and can allure tens of millions
of people from abroad.
I went to Nepal for the first time in January, 2015 to attend
the third Asia Liberty Forum. During the
time I also had an opportunity to have a short trip to Pokhara. The conference
attracted many participants from other countries and almost all of us except
perhaps those from India were first-timers in Nepal. Many of my friends in the
Philippines including the frequent travellers abroad congratulated me for
seeing Nepal, a country that they wish to see someday but have a number of
reservations and doubts for now.
What could be those things that discourage or prevent
people abroad from visiting and seeing Nepal?
Before attempting to answer that question, here are some
basic data about foreign visitors and
their spending in selected Asian countries.
Source: UNWTO Tourism Highlights 2014
As a first time visitor having been in Nepal for a week, here
are some of my observations and modest
proposals to address them.
First, electricity supply is poor, up to 18 hours of
power outage a day in Kathmandu. Big and medium size companies like malls and
hotels must have their own power generator sets running on oil. There is a need
therefore to have more power generation plants connected to the national grid
and distribution system. Coal and natural gas power plants are not possible in
Nepal because the fuel here is transported by huge boats. More oil plants, even
small nuclear plants, are possible but the fuel has to be transported from
India. More hydro plants, or more efficient engines and turbines in existing hydro plants have to be installed.
Some foreign hydro power companies are very efficient in
doing this, at the least cost possible to the consumers.
Second is the issue of roads. Roads are generally narrow and in bad
conditions. Private investors can be invited in infrastructure development through
toll roads, say in roads going to the airport, roads going to major cities or
municipalities outside Kathmandu. Then public funds can focus on improving or
expanding existing road network in the city and poorer municipalities.
Third, only few international airlines are serving Nepal
and this creates a monopoly or duopoly position on certain routes. There is a
need to liberalize the airline industry and allow more foreign players to
compete with each other in getting passengers. Air fares will decline and more
foreigners can afford to visit Nepal.
Fourth is about the fact of having only one international
airport. Other major tourist destinations like Pokhara can be converted into an
international airport too, so there is a need to expand and lengthen the
runway. Many tourists want direct flight to their destinations, to reduce
travel time, reduce danger of flight delays/cancellations, reduce cost of
travel.
Fifth is the political instability that affect visitors.
When we went to Pokhara for two days, there was a strike, and some passengers
were stranded at the airport, no taxi to bring them to their hotels. Luckily,
our hotel picked us up at the airport. But then we have to walk for about 45
minutes from our hotel to our destination. When we got back to Kathmandu, there
was another strike at the city itself. Again, no taxi, many shops and
restaurants are closed. This kind of political instability can discourage some
tourists from coming in, or from coming back.
I like Nepal, the people are warm and friendly. I wish to
see Nepal to be more prosperous in the near future. I wish to see Nepal to have
stable supply of electricity that run 24/7, good infrastructure up to the mountains which can soon,
attract investors that will build ski resorts, with hotels and cable cars. This
is highly possible, so long as public policies will be more friendly to
investors, local and foreign alike. Where there is ice in the mountains that
stay for many months, moneyed foreign
visitors will always be attracted to it.
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See also:
Business 360 18: Innovation, Inequality and Inclusive Growth, August 25, 2014
Business 360 19: Investments and Inequality in Asia, October 15, 2015
Business 366 20: Trade and Development in Asia, December 25, 2015
Business 360 21: Cheap Oil and Nepal, February 20, 2015
Two Years Writing for Business 360, January 05, 2015
