SHANTI JOSHI
Like an individual, every nation has unique competitive areas that need to be more focused in order to take a competitive and comparative advantage. For country Nepal, agricultural sector, tourism sector, hydro-power sector, natural resources, handicraft, among others regarded as a competitive area for the country. These sectors have a significant impact on Nepalese economy in terms of their contribution to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
There is no doubt that Nepal is one of the most beautiful countries and major tourist destinations in the world, and blessed with numerous natural resources like snow-capped mountain, green forest, never-ending rivers, breathtaking view of Himalayas, lakes, abundant bio-diversity, multi-culture identities, historical monument, among others are the real assets of the country and need to preserve in order to attract domestic as well as foreign tourists.
Likewise, tourists want to visit Nepal to look historical monuments rather than modern houses, observe culture, trek mountain, enjoy with natural beauty, among others. As we know that the attraction of foreign tourists is sources of foreign currency and it would help to generate income of many Nepali people thereby increasing the level of income. It could help to maintain an adequate level of balance of payment of the country. Expansion of this sector has enhanced people’s livelihood thereby rising their living standard. Moreover, promotion of this sector would help to increase economic activities within the country thereby increasing national GDP.
In fact, empirical research conducted by Nepal Rastra Bank demonstrated that tourism causes economic growth in short-run and long-run in Nepal. Moreover, such study revealed that there is a significant relationship between tourism earning and economic growth. Several studies tried to measure the economic impact of tourism and concluded about its significance for the economy. Several studies have been conducted by different researchers in different economies, and most of them concluded that the tourism industry contributes significantly to the economic growth of the nations.
Since statistics show foreign tourist inflow surged by less than 250,000 in the last seven years. The government has targeted of attracting 2 million tourists annually by 2020 which was announced through the 2018-19 federal budget. Holiday entertainment is one of the major purposes that foreign tourists visit Nepal followed by religious purpose.
In fact, World Book of Record, London, has listed Pashupatinath temple for being one of the oldest temples with mythological importance, and Lumbini for being one of the most visited temples in the world which is good news for the promotion of the tourism industry in Nepal.
The inflow of tourists can be increased only when the country has developed tourism sector related infrastructure. Without making the available road, infrastructure and tourism friendly environment, it is extremely difficult to bring in 2 million tourists annually by 2020. Most of the beautiful areas are located in the remote area of Nepal that’s why the areas must link with the road in order to increase a large number of tourists in such areas. The arrival of one tourist is very important in the sense that his/her words play an important role in boosting the tourism sector. Moreover, the growth of the tourism industry and inflow of tourists highly depends on the current situation of tourism-related infrastructure like an international and domestic airport, well-equipped hotels, roads, skilled human capital, among others.
Tourists have been facing difficulties due to lack of proper development of tourism-related infrastructure. In the tourism industry, there is unhealthy competition among hoteliers, marketing and networking related problems, according to some entrepreneurs who have long experience in the hotel industry. Hoteliers have been slashing their service rates to attract tourists such trend can ruin the entire tourism industry in long run.
The inflow of tourists is directly linked with the country’s infrastructure. Once Nepal is equipped with sound tourism infrastructure, the flow of foreign visitors will automatically increase. Thus, the government should keep eyes on the development of tourism-related infrastructure, set uniformity in the tourism service rate, develop the human capital in order to meet the target of 2 million tourists by 2020. The policy should be focused to develop the tourism sector in order to achieve economic growth. The country needs to recognize the contribution of the tourism sector on the national GDP and formulate robust policies along with effective monitoring mechanism for the development of the tourism sector.
