Shortened duration, revenue slump hit rafting businesses

Despite rise in the length of average tourist stay, foreign visitors are spending far little time on white-water rafting as most river trips these days wrap up in two days on average compared with 4-5 days in the past.

Although operators said there was no significant change in the number of foreign tourists, revenue has fallen by up to 25 percent because of shortened duration and unhealthy competition.

Mahendra Singh Thapa, who operates Equator Expedition, said that revenue has come down as prices have not been revised in the last few years. Furthermore, many operators engage in unhealthy competition by reducing tariff rates irrationally. “The number of tourists purchasing packages of longer duration is almost nil now,” he added.

Operators charge $25 onwards per day per person for rafting in rivers like Trishuli, whereas the tariff goes beyond $80 per day per person in the rivers like Sunkoshi and Karnali.

“The packages for rivers like Bhotekoshi, Karnali and Sunkoshi used to be around 10-12 days which has now come down to 3-4 days because of the fall in the number of tourists who choose longer trips,” Thapa said.

Chandra Bahadur Dahal, managing director of Eco Nepal Adventure, said his agency was hosting around 50-60 tourists per day on an average in the current season. “The number of domestic tourists is up but there has been no growth in overall number compared to last season,” he said, adding, rafting these days are limited to one-day trips at Trishuli river.

Nani Kaji Thapa, president of Nepal Association of Rafting Agents (NARA), who also operates Asian Adventure said that the sales of single day package was slightly up because of increasing number of domestic tourists but the overall revenue was down.

“The cost of other factors has gone up but our tariff has remained same, which has caused rafting sector´s revenue to slump by 25 percent this year,” added Thapa.

According to NARA, more than 100,000 people enjoyed rafting last year, of which 30 percent were domestic tourists. The rafting season which begins in mid-March lasts till May.

source: republica, 11 republica, 2012