Problems and Prospects of Rural Tourismin Western Development Region, with special Reference to Gulmi District

Abstract

In the scenario of low productivity in agricultural and industrial sector, tourismcan be a high productive sector to compensate theunemployment anddisguisedunemployment prevailing in the country as well as Gulmi district. It hascomparative advantages than other industries such as, it has low opportunity cost,it takes low gestation period to give returns, can involve the lower strata of thepeople of all ecological zones, involves women and ethnic groups and bears directrelation to all dimensions of life like culture, environment, nature, behavior ofpeople etc. The history of Tourism in Nepal is became very old, again the rural populationhas not been able to benefit from the tourism industry yet-only around 10 percentrevenue stay in areas itself. Also there are only limitedareas like Kathmandu,Chitwan and Pokhara where tourism has been occupied, so it is necessary toconduct additional micro level studies of alternative areas like Gulmi. Western Development Regionis highly potential for tourismas itis a storage areaofnature and livingculture. The region has been a role model for rural tourism development in the country.Gulmi underwhich is also rich in cultural heritage,beautiful natural scenery, colorful fairs and festivals, views of breathtakingHimalayas, pristine natural beauty, hospitable people and ancientreligious and historical monuments make this district one of the most wonderful tourist destinations,is crying for its proper attention. The district is full of high and low hills, plain, base, gorge etc.,made by river flows. On the whole it is a rural/remote area but there is some social and physical development in recent years which is slowly urbanizing the settlements. Most of the settlements are of small sizes and there are limited big settlements. The district’s main economy is depends on agricultural sector which is slightlydecreasing. In the data of 2038, there were 98 percent people depending on this sector, which slightly decreased to 91.03 percent in 2048. In the total economic structure the production/industrial sector could not show any countable earnings,only 1.76 percent in 2048. There is only some traditional, cottage and smallindustries, but the third sector (professional/Technical, Administrative, Sales andServices) was increasing from 1percent in 2028 to 6.71 percent employment in2048, this is a positive sign. Per-capita income of Gulmi district is very low(NRs. 7163 in 1996), lower than the national average and far below to theneighboring districts. Purchasing power and income index was also lowest (US$1107 and 0.16). It is Agricultural labour who are engaged in agriculture throughout the year are landless or having very few lands. Only five percent people have agricultural production sufficient throughout the year. How everGulmi is the store house of vast tourism products as it is covered with rural settlements, mixed forest and rich bio-diversities. There are altogetheraround 20 temples, previouspalaces and Caves in the district. There are veryfamous places likeRuru Chhetraand Resunga whichwill be beneficial to attractthe domestic tourists first and then market it for foreigntourist, we can developtourist packages like cave tourism linkages of Dhurkot and Argakhachi, similarlyreligious linkages or tourism circuits with other districts like Lumbini-Tansen-Ridi-Resunga-Sorgadwarietc. we can declare conservation areas to high altitudeareaslike Banjhkateri and Madane Kolek and develop medical or herbal tourism.There is also a great possibility of Medical Tourism oryoga center in ResungaForest.The best practices of community based rural tourism inside the countryand in neighboring country like in Sikkim and Laddhak could be followed for thisdistrict. Different Tourist Models like Pilgrimage Tourism, Village/UrbanTourism, and Nature based tourism, Adventure tourism, Health Tourism,Floriculture Tourism could be developed in this district. Foot hills with amazingscenic beauty rivers with fresh water appropriate for white water rafting andsmall mountains with highpotentials for adventure tourism like Trekking, Rock-climbing, Para Gliding, Mountain Biking and many more if developed properlyand marketed strategically, there will definitely be a huge inflow of domestic aswell asforeign tourists that would ultimately contribute in raising the standardofliving of rural poor. It is important to develop tourist level facilities in major areas, threeconstituencies could provide tourist services, and it is necessary to providetourism awareness and hospitality services training. Rafting Agency and TAANshould cooperate for the promotion of the local areas. It is required to makefunctional to Ruru Resunga Touirsm Development Committee.Accordingly wecould link institutional agencies related to women empowerment and tourismdevelopment. On the other hand, there are some problems to develop tourism in this region like;most of the roads dusty and are in temporary condition; monopoly intransportation;weak infrastructure;lack of access to airlines; lack ofinitiation onthe part of tourism;lack of coordinated efforts; tourismhas not been a accorded;historical facts are not publicized; lack of institutional tourism agencies;Kaligandaki project has hampered the rafting potentialities of Badigadriver; lackof awareness; migration; depletion of forest; lack of manpower; degradation ofenvironment and biodiversitiesgender inequality, poor condition and literacyetc.