Nepal has the highest mountains on the planet, and some of the best trekking routes in the world. The natural diversity here is unbelievable, and it houses some of the most unparalleled and diverse cultural treasures. It is home to two of the major religions of the humankind, and it has their holiest shrines. Add to that one of the most hospitable civilizations. All this within a breadth of 200 kilometers, 1000 kilometers east to west. There is virtually no other spot on earth so dense with the pearls of heaven.
Still, Nepal has found it hard to develop itself as a tourism hub while other not so resourceful countries have bagged billions.
Here is why:
1. We have not told the world: "We have a slice of Paradise here in Nepal".
Nepal is yet to be introduced as a tourist destination.
People know that Everest is the highest point on earth, but very few know where it is.
India is better known as land of Buddha than Nepal. Some encouraging movements have been initiated at the public level, but there have been few if any governmental attempts. The use of the image of Buddha in Nepali currency is laudable, but it is hardly effective in spreading the knowledge globally as Nepali currency is strictly limited to boundaries of Nepal.
Qatar attracts tens of millions of tourists by advertising duty-free shops in a city and barren desert sand. Singapore and Hong Kong neither have attractive Himalays nor they have a comparable cultural assets, but they are desired tourist destinations.
Even more sadly, we are de-advertising Nepal. When our political parties promise they wont call Bandas during the tourism year and in practice do the opposite, we are sending all the wrong messages. Hospitality and Tourism is a sensitive industry and if we plan to live out of it, we, as a society, should be more responsible than we have till today.
Only if we display the 'Nepal' brand internationally through a sophisticated advertisement campaign can we fill into everyones' hearts the dream of 'visiting-Nepal-once-in-my-life'. Major internet, television and print media must be targeted, and Hollywood and Bollywood projects must be utilized besides other innovations in this regard if we are to truly promote Nepal.
2. We have not taken care of our Paradise.
A tourist who wishes to trek in the Himalayas wishes to witness wilderness, natural charm and expects a warm hospitality. What we have done is turned our beautiful natural landscape into a vast open dustbin. It is sad that our civilization can not even keep our villages and towns clean, or do we expect foreign aid for that as well?
Annapurna Trekking Route was lauded as one of the best trekking routes in the world; but we could not preserve it. We built roads right at the trekking routes without even developing an alternative route before; the result: influential foreign media predicted the demise of the trek. Imagine the number of trips that were cancelled just because of such a news. There is still time; but if we continue to be careless we don't need to be a tourism expert to tell that there shall be fewer and fewer tourists each year.
Similarly counterproductive is the decision to take a road right through Chitawan National Park.
We don't have to go so far. Right at the heart of Kathmandu, we are failing. Pollution, unplanned construction, unmanaged traffic and some over-insistent souvenir sellers at Basantapur Durbar Square ruin the experience. A visit to this place is now more a part of the schedule than sight-seeing.
Similarly the Lumbini Region is increasingly facing the nuisance of unplanned industrialization; cement and brick industries have affected the sanctity of the village. The hub of Maithil Civilization and the holy city of Janakpur is one of the dirtiest towns in the nation.
With no real regulations, we have even littered the snows of Everest.
If we continue to be careless, these places will soon lose their glitter. It is our responsibility to conserve these heritages.
Nepal is endowed with alluring assets and is at the heart of the world's most booming economic region. With more active advertisement and better management, we can reap all the fortune. It is only for us to tap out of our luck or be left out.
As we part, I leave you with this lively video, a cover of One Republic's 'Counting Stars', by Guido (Downloadable at Vimeo)
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Image curtsey www.welcomenepal.com (mild editing done!)
Feel free to comment and provide feedback. Have a nice time!
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