Tourism in Nepal: A Macro & Micro Perspective

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to analyze the tourism development in Nepal at macro and micro levels. At macro level, the specific objectives were to assess the nature of tourism planning; determine the attributes of tourist arrivals in Nepal; analyze demand side of tourism by considering the pattern of growth in tourist arrivals,seasonality,and composition of tourist arrivals; examinethe purpose of visit and length of stay by the tourists;assess thegrowth inrevenue generation from tourism; analyze the supply side of tourism in terms of the growth in tourism infrastructure, e.g., accommodation, manpower, transportation facilities, and investment; and ascertain the relationship of tourist arrivals and tourism earnings with tourism expenditure, and tourist accommodation. At micro level, the objective was to conduct a case study of tourism in Nagarkot by covering the areas of tourism planning, tourist arrivals, and tourism infrastructure. It also deals with assessing the impact of tourism on local community, and hotels/lodges. The micro level study was based on primarydata collected through field survey by administering the structured questionnaire to three responding groups: the tourists, the local households, and the hotels/lodges. The major results of 2005 survey were also compared with the results of similar surveyundertaken in 1995. The macro level study was based on secondary data. The major secondary data relating to demand forand supply of tourism in Nepal was collected from different published sources.The study period chosenfor analyzing the tourism policy and performance at macro level was from1982 to2005.The Nepalese plans have always added a new dimension in the planned approach for tourism development. However, the performance was at a low level. Despite the planned efforts, the trend of tourist arrivals has not been encouraging. Even though much emphasis has been placed on tourism at the planning and policy levels, growth rates of tourist arrivals, length of stay by tourists, foreign exchange earnings, and tourism infrastructure could not increasesignificantly even before the insurgency problems in the country. Notwithstanding high priority given to tourism planning, the tourism development expenditure of the government was not even one percent of total development expenditure. This kind of poor financial priority given to tourism sector showed government’s lack of commitment towards tourism promotion in the country.There was also a wide variation in the demand for Nepalese tourism and the variability increased over a period of time. As regardsthe supply side of tourism, there had been a growth and development of tourist accommodation facilities over a period of time. Despite the decline in the demand for Nepalese tourism in recent years due to insurgency problem in the country, the number of hotels, rooms, and beds had not declined. There was, however, a distinct decline in occupancy rates of hotels. The supply of trained manpower required for the development of tourism increased over a period of time, irrespective of the rise and fall of tourism. Tourism training and education, which was relatively unpopular in the past, have gained more popularity in the recent years. Tourism development at micro level was not guided by proper tourism planning. The tourism planning does not exist at the micro level and as such tourism development was based on an ad hoc basis.The micro perspective of tourism analyzed by conducting a survey of tourists in Nagarkot revealed that average per day expenditure pattern of tourists increased over a period of timein 2005 over 1995. The first five major facilities that were considered poor by tourists were, street lighting, security, septage collection and disposal, drainage, and sanitation. The survey of households conducted in Nagarkot revealed that the development of tourism brought many changes on the lives of local people. The 2005 survey indicated that about 90 percent of local people were benefited from tourism, while this percentage was used to be only 59 percent in 1995. The survey showed some shifts in the major occupation of households, and also an improvement in quality of toilet conditions over a period of ten years. However, the problem of solid waste collection and disposal still exists in Nagarkot. The 2005 survey of hotels and lodges in Nagarkot revealed an increase in their average annual income, and employment provided by them in 2005 over 1995. The average duration of stay by tourists was observed to be 1.6 days in 2005, which was just one day in 1995. The 2005 survey indicated that a hotel/lodge, on an average, used to generate solid waste of 58 kg per day, while it was much lower during the 1995 survey, that is, an average of 15 kg per day. Thus, the 2005 survey showed a marked increase in solid waste generation by the hotels and lodges. Allthe positive developments in Nagarkot were not the outcome of deliberate tourism planning. The study also recommended some measures to promote tourism at the macro and micro levels.