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TAAN urges bringing back benchmark fee

The Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) has urged the government to reintroduce the benchmark fee for trekkers on popular routes like Everest and Annapurna in a bid to discourage illegal operators. The government has been losing revenue due to a rise in the number of unregistered trek operators, said TAAN.

Speaking at an interaction here on Tuesday, TAAN president Mahendra Singh Thapa said that there had been an alarming rise in the number of illegal operators that is hurting government revenue and also the trekking business. “We have also urged Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to reintroduce the benchmark fee on trekkers so that the tourism business and revenue earning will be more transparent.”
According to him, the government had a benchmark fee in place for trekkers, however, it was abandoned at the urging of some sections of the private sector. 
Nepal has been seeing improved tourist arrivals with an increased length of stay, but foreign exchange earnings have not matched this growth for the last three years.

Although NRB has been keeping a close eye on the trend, it has no clue about the slow revenue collection. Officials have suspected that companies involved in foreign exchange transactions might have submitted incorrect data on income from tourism.
“The major reason behind the falling revenue is an alarming rise in the number of illegal operators who have been conducting foreign exchange transactions without registration,” Thapa said. The government is unaware about the issue, he added.

Trekking is an expensive adventure activity that requires visitors to stay a minimum of eight-nine days and spend US$ 50-70 daily per person, according to traders. “As the government has failed to regulate this market, even NGOs are found to be involved in the trekking business,” Thapa said. He added that the trekking industry had a lot of potential to eradicate rural poverty, but it was lagging behind in contributing revenue to the economy.

According to the Tourism Ministry, Nepal Tourism Year in 2011 brought a record number of tourists, but their average per day spending has dropped to a 10-year low. Arrivals reached more than 735,000, but average spending fell to US$ 39.90 in 2011 against US$ 43.20 in 2010.

Meanwhile, speaking at the same occasion, Nepal Association of Rafting Agents (NARA) president Nani Kaji Thapa urged the government to immediately initiate the process of buying aircraft for Nepal Airlines Corporation.

A large portion of tourist spending goes into airfare, and Nepal has not been able to reap the benefits due to the absence of the national flag carrier in the source markets, he said. The government should protect Nepal’s world renowned white-water rafting that is on the verge of destruction due to the governments unmanaged policy to develop hydropower, he added.
“Nepal has earned the reputation for being one of the best places in the world for white-water rafting and kayaking, and that should be protected.”

Meanwhile, Tourism Ministry secretary Sushil Ghimire said that his ministry was ready to amend all the old policies in line with present needs. “Although it is not possible to amend the acts, some policies and regulations can be amended if they can boost the country’s tourism industry,” Ghimire added.

source: The Kathmandu post, 29 jan 2013