Call for promoting domestic tourism

Domestic tourism in Nepal has been reviving gradually together with the recovery of international tourism after the start of the peace process. The number of domestic tourists visiting various destinations inside the country has been on the rise over the years.

Tourism entrepreneurs, especially hoteliers, of major tourist destinations like Pokhara, Chitwan and Nagarkot sometimes offer attractive tour packages targeting domestic visitors. Such packages are mainly introduced during the main festivals and the New Year. However, there is no any mechanism in place to maintain statistics of Nepali visitors traveling to these places.

With its scenic and tourism facilities and services, Pokhara is one of the preferred destinations among domestic tourists. Being popular as ‘Nepal’s Switzerland’, Pokhara welcomes a large number of tourists from different parts of the country every year.

As part of its annual programme, the Western Regional Hotel Association Pokhara Nepal is organizing the 9th Fewa New Year Festival-2012 at Basundhara Park of the Lake City from April 10-14 on the occasion of Nepali New Year 2069 B.S.

The association has introduced several packages such as Fewa Package, Machhapurchhre Honeymoon Package, Educational Package, Monsoon Package and Convention and Seminar Package to attract more domestic visitors to Pokhara and lengthen their stay there. The costs of the packages range from Rs. 750 to Rs. 16,666.

The annual tourism event has become very effective in its mission of luring domestic visitors to the tourist hub. When the association took the initiative to organize the New Year event 10 years ago, Pokhara would see just two per cent domestic tourists of the total visitors. Now the number of domestic tourists visiting the city has increased to about 30 per cent.

With this campaign, the association has aimed to increase the number of domestic tourists to 50 per cent of the total visitors in Pokhara. The organisers hoped that about 25,000 domestic tourists will visit the city during the festival.

Food stalls, cultural shows, duet folk song contests, live musical concerts, sightseeing of Pokhara and the surrounding areas from helicopters and the booths showcasing village tourism and agricultural products will be the main attractions of the five-day event.

Other established and emerging tourist spots also need to learn from Pokhara and take initiatives to promote them in the internal market as well. One of the strengths of Pokhara as a tourist attraction is that there is a good unity and coordination among the tourism entrepreneurs.

Looking at the emergence of travel culture among the urban residents, domestic tourism in the country is expected to grow considerably in no time. Once durable peace is established, various tourist destinations will witness an increased inflow of internal visitors.

What is lacking is a proper policy on domestic tourism. It is sad to note that domestic visitors are not regarded as tourists. Sometimes they are even deprived of traveling by tourist vehicles because of the syndicate system.

While traveling on long land routes, domestic visitors are frequently cheated by hoteliers. In many places, domestic visitors are forced to pay higher amounts for food and accommodation, but they cannot get quality services.

Another reason for not-so-encouraging trend of domestic tourism in the country is lack of proper infrastructure and facilities.

The concerned bodies now need to work out on the leave travel scheme for the civil servants and those working with the private sector in order to take domestic tourism to a new height. The promotion of domestic tourism is sure to help contribute to boosting international tourism.

source: Ballav Dahal ,RisingNepal, 9 April 2012