Tourism accounted for 3.6pc of Nepal's total employment

Nepal’s travel and tourism sector accounted for 3.6 percent of the total employment in the country in 2012, according to Travel and Tourism Economic Impact 2012 Nepal published by the World Travel and Tourism Council ( WTTC ).

The report shows that the travel trade provided 553,500 jobs directly in 2012. The contribution was 412,500 in 2011. The WTTC report has projected that the travel trade sector’s contribution to the country’s total employment will rise by 7 percent in 2013.

The direct employment provided by the sector includes employment by hotels, travel agents and airlines and other passenger transportation services. It also includes the activities of restaurants and leisure industries directly supported by tourists.

Travel trade entrepreneur Ram Kazi Koney said that the impact of increased tourist movement was visible in the country’s employment.

In 2011, Nepal received 735,965 tourists, and the number increased to more than 800,000 in 2012.

“Based on the theory that one tourist employs nine people, we cannot deny the fact that 553,500 jobs has been created in 2012,” Koney said. “Most new jobs in the developing countries are created in the tourism industry.”

According to the WTTC , Nepal is expected to attract 946,000 international tourists in 2013.

Investment in the travel and tourism sector in 2012 amounted to Rs 12.5 billion, or 4.1 percent of the total investment. The report said that investment would rise by 8.2 percent in 2013. In 2011, the tourism industry attracted capital investment of Rs 12 billion.

“Although the Kathmandu valley has not witnessed a significant rise in investment, massive money has been poured into infrastructure like hotels and restaurants outside Kathmandu.”

In 2012, Nepal earned Rs 36.6 billion from tourism, equivalent to 24 percent of the value of the country’s total exports. The income is forecast to grow by 2.1 percent in 2013 and 4.1 percent per annum from 2013 to Rs 55.6 billion in 2023. Nepal earned revenues worth Rs 28.6 billion in 2011.

The WTTC report shows that Nepal is a popular destination for leisure activities. In 2012, foreign and domestic tourists spent Rs 84.8 billion, amounting to 79.6 percent of the direct travel and tourism GDP. Business travel spending amounted to Rs 21.7 billion.

Nepal is likely to see more leisure travellers this year. Leisure travel spending is expected to grow by 6.6 percent to Rs 90.4 billion while business travel spending is expected to grow by 9.3 percent to Rs 23.7 billion.

The report shows that domestic travel spending amounted to 65.7 percent of the direct travel and tourism GDP in 2012 compared to 34.3 percent for visitor exports (foreign visitor or international tourism receipts). Domestic travel spending is expected to grow by 9.8 percent to Rs 76.8 billion in 2013.

Travel trade entrepreneurs said that the new generation was willing to travel more. They said that changing lifestyles and rising middle class incomes were the major reasons for the large movement of domestic travellers in recent years. “The hotels are not occupied by foreigners only. Since a couple of years ago, hotel occupancy particularly outside Kathmandu has been dominated by Nepali travellers,” Koney said.

The report also shows that the direct contribution of travel and tourism to the GDP was Rs 67.2 billion (4.3 percent of the total GDP) in 2012, and is forecast to rise by 7.3 percent in 2013. The total contribution of travel and tourism to the GDP was Rs 147.2 billion (9.4 percent of the GDP) in 2012.

The total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the GDP in 2011 was Rs 119.1 billion. The WTTC report has ranked Nepal 88 in terms of travel and tourism’s direct contribution to employment and 129 in terms of attracting foreign visitors among 184 countries.

The latest annual research from the WTTC and research partner Oxford Economics shows that the importance of travel and tourism to the wider economy continued to grow in 2012.

source:The Kathmandu post,29 March 2013