Over six months have already passed since year 2011 was officially declared “Nepal Tourism Year”. The spontaneous participation by people from every walk of life in its official launching in the month of February was overwhelming. Not only tourism entrepreneurs and its stakeholders but also political leaders showed their solidarity in raising their voice for a common national interest. However, the sigh of relief that swept our mind, which is still vivid, seems to be fading away with time. Where are we in terms of our preparedness in hosting over a million tourists?
The clock starts ticking amazingly slowly the moment one disembarks into Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). The restlessness propagates with each ticking minute. A brief ride to arrival lounge on a rattling transfer coach looks too long. The queue to immigration counter looks disproportionately long as passengers pass by closed duty-free shops and relaxed officials. The arrival lounge looks dark and dingy without luxury of conditioned air probably due to ongoing year round energy crises. Not only the facility within the airport but also the ones like prepaid taxi service catered by private operators look ageing and crumbling with a fleet of the oldest cars available in the city. I wonder if we have anything other than a few banners which say “Nepal Tourism Year 2011” to indicate our commitment toward seriously hosting this gala event!
Disembarking at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, the city which is hosting the Commonwealth Games (CWG), is an experience in itself today with Terminal 3 added to its facilities. Unlike TIA, it is no more a makeshift airport but has become a state-of-the-art international airport. The highways which drive out from the airport are not only wider but facilitated with well-planned lanes. Though the vehicles plying on the road still move slowly, the economically-viable toll roads have made the ride into Delhi somewhat easier. The recently added elevated metro lines and metro stations are further easing out the mass transportation in a city of over 18 million inhabitants. Whether it be the revamping of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium or equipping Delhi Transport Corporation with fleets of comfortable air-conditioned buses or be it beautifying the roadscape, the euphoria of hosting the event with grandeur is prevalent everywhere—airport to bus stations, cab drivers to restaurant operators to hotel owners.
Marketing our tourism products merely by means of few commercials in international media and websites cannot for sure double the tourist inflow in Nepal as intended. Renovating a few rooms in a few hotels and adding a few rooms in a few tourist destinations by the private sector and introduction of legislation by the government sector to allow home stay alone cannot considerably improve our present nationwide room inventory of just over 15,000. Unlike in Nepal, 22 to 27 hotels with 300 to 500 rooms are being constructed within or nearby Delhi alone to bring in 2 million foreign tourists and 3.5 million domestic tourists during the events. All major hotel chains in India such as the Oberoi Group, the Taj Group, the Intercontinental Hotels Group and the Leela Group are gearing up to participate in the upcoming developments. Over US$1.6 billion worth of investment for the Games alone and an overall investment of US$2.5 to 4.5 billion are indeed an example of serious joint commitment made by the state and the entrepreneurs in India.
Bringing in over 500,000 additional tourists who stay with us in Nepal for an average of 11 days spending about US$65 a day would contribute an additional Rs 27 billion to our economy. Although we cannot expect a galloping Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth as is expected in Delhi from the Games, certain things can definitely happen if we put in efforts to make Nepal Tourism Year 2011 a success. Our hotels, which are in a cut-throat competition to retain over 50 percent occupancy, will have their rooms filled-up with much better average room rates. Our airlines to tour operators, our restaurant owners to lodge operators, our trekking guides to local labors in Nepal – all indeed see a ray of hope come 2011.
The expectations are too obvious and the benefit projections are too tempting but the enthusiasm to host the event with grandeur has not picked up yet. It is time we learnt from our neighbors and started believing in what we say. Let us make Nepal Tourism Year 2011 a success, not a debacle!
