Making “Visit Nepal Year-2020”
Successful
Tourism is one of the most
important industries for Nepal. Nepal has been earning considerably from
tourism sector. However after 2015 earthquake, the numbers of tourists visiting
Nepal have not fully recovered – maybe because the renovation and
rehabilitation works have not been completely finished. This year, the
Government has declared the year 2020 as the "Visit Nepal Year" - to
boost tourist arrival and to improve economy in different sectors like airline,
hotel, travel agencies, handicrafts etc., and most importantly to improve the
international image of the country.
According to the data published
by the Department of Tourism, an approximately 12 lakhs tourists visited Nepal
in the year 2019, of which, 23% were from India, 8% from other Asian countries
(China, Korea, Thailand), 8% from USA, 11% from Europe, 3% from Australia and
46% from other countries. This year the Government has targeted for 20 lakhs
tourists to visit Nepal. This is a plan to invite 66% more visitors than last
year. To achieve this target, each month approximately 170,000 visitors must
visit Nepal.
Research
This year in January 2020, I
conducted a survey with 50 randomly selected tourists, in Kathmandu valley. The
objective of this survey was to gather information about what the tourists feel
about Nepal. My methodology for this survey was a questionnaire survey. The
main questions were: what they liked and disliked about Nepal, and in what
areas Nepal should improve. The survey was conducted in Kathmandu, Patan and
Bhatapur Durbar Square areas, and visitors leaving Nepal at Tribhuvan
International Airport. Breakdown of the respondents were: USA 7, UK 7,
Switzerland 3, Russia 3, Japan 4, Italy 4, France 3, Australia 2, Denmark 2, India
2, Germany 2, and each from Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Israel, Netherland,
Serbia, Kosovo, Spain, Sri Lanka, and Sudan. All the persons who participated
in this survey were happy to share their opinions with me.
Findings
On my question about the purpose
of their visit, the majority of visitors were here to spend their vacation,
some were here for trekking and some were on their business. Two ladies were
here for volunteering works. Among the surveyed visitors, 70% mentioned that it
was their first visit and 20% said that it was their second visit and remaining
had visited several times. Similarly their length of stay was in average one
week only.
The tourists gave their candid
opinion about their likes and dislikes about being here in Nepal. For instance,
they mentioned that they like the hospitality they received, the sights of
ancient cities in Kathmandu Valley, mountain viewing, cultural and religious
sites. I was surprised and overwhelmed by the fact that 84% of the respondents
mentioned that they very much liked the kind people of Nepal and had a good
impression about the kind people. I was pleased to know that Nepalese people
were kind to the visitors because they consider guests as important persons as
in the Sanskrit saying, "Athiti Deva
Bhava". Furthermore, 46% mentioned that they liked the delicious food
in Nepal. They also liked the Nepalese Culture of celebrating different
festivals, associated to the nature.
I also asked what were the things
that they did not like in Nepal, which is a very important for us to know. The
majority of the visitors mentioned that they disliked the air pollution in the
cities and unmanaged traffic in the roads. They also mentioned, wastes in
roads, lack of cleanliness, stray dogs in streets, smog, noise,
infrastructures, cheating by some guides, high fees for tourists, and high VISA
extension costs. One visitor from UK said, "tap water is not drinkable and
we need to buy bottled water all the time." Another person from USA,
"almost no nature in Kathmandu", meaning that there is very little
greenery, and very few parks.
Conclusion
I learnt a vast number of new
things from this survey. To improve our country's image, to lengthen the days of
stay, to attract them to revisit again, we need to keep in mind what the
foreign visitors don’t like about Nepal. We need to work hard to reduce air pollution, improve cleanliness, reduce noise, manage
traffic etc. Tourists come here not to see what they have in their own country,
but to see things that they do not have. So we need to promote tourist
attraction by preserving our diverse culture, and promote natural sceneries
with magnificent mountains, hills, rivers and forests. This year's target of
VNY of 20 lakh tourists can only be achieved if we all works harder by
arranging more facilities to tourists, by advertising that Nepal is a safe and
splendid country to visit and we show respect to our visitors so that they
leave with a good impression and recommend their family, relatives and friends
to visit Nepal.
By:
Shradheya Krishna Manandhar
Grade 7
DAV Sushil Kedia Vishwa Bharati School, Jawalakhel
Some Photographs during Survey
