Visit nepal??

This is a initiative taken by our government in hope of promoting tourism industry of Nepal. The goal of this program is to reach farthest corner of the world and advertise the tourism potentiality of our country.There are a lot of positive efforts being made to make this program successful.But we will have to see in coming days what sort positive or negative results we will get from this program.

Everybody is talking about Visit Nepal 2020. There seems to be certain aim of attracting higher number of tourists than before. Everybody is hyped up for promoting the tourism industry in Nepal. The policy makers and the tourism professionals are busy exposing the natural and cultural beauty of the country. Well this is not the first time this type of program is being conducted, in 1998 and 2011 there were similar programs. But the question arises “How successful have we been?”. Comparing the results of these programs the number of tourists visiting this country has increased. But have we been able to provide convenient services to the volume of tourists that we get visited by ? I believe we have been lacking in that sector. There is a saying in English “First impression is the last impression “ have we ever discussed in that ? When a flight is to land in the Tribhuwan International Airport on average a flight needs to make a circular trip on the sky of Kathmandu because of the air traffic. After making it to the ground, the passengers have to go through customs . The amount of time the foreigners have to stand in the queue is very disturbing.

There has been positive change in recent years, when they introduced electronic services in the immigration. It was supposed to eliminate the time it takes to do all the necessary procedures. But all in vain, the amount of time it takes for an individual to go through these procedures can take more than couple of hours. In during the peak season the situation is very bad, there has been a lot of complaints against the custom officers for their behavior against the tourists. Everybody who has gone through this custom have some experience of inconvenience and some even made it to the social media. The behavior of these officers has been comparatively worse in recent years. It might be the frustration due to the dissatisfaction of their income or what, they seem not to pleasant with themselves. After a long queue coming out of the airport building is something that anyone can never forget. At the scorching heat from the sun on a blacktopped platform our first impression to the foreigners is that they need to walk with their luggage to nearby vehicle stand . “Atithi Debo Vaba “ which translates to “Guests are Gods “ has been a major characteristic of our culture since the ancient times. But from the tourists point of view all these values seem to have disappeared. After leaving the airport reaching to the Hotel is also a major hassle. Getting stuck in the noisy and dusty traffic is one of the major issues. The hotels seem to be quite convenient for most of the cases , but there has been complaints of cockroaches and geckos . The major complaint I’ve encountered is about the billing system that our system offers. You have a price shown in a menu, and the VAT’s and other taxes are to be added later. It seems that we are trying to trick our customers. Why isn’t there a system where everything is in order? Imagine a system where we will not be blamed for our inconven

Nepal has been always known for its potential in tourism industry. The tallest mountains in the world, diverse geography, diverse biodiversity, diverse culture, diverse everything and so on are the major highlights for this country. People have been coming from different parts of the world in order to experience life. Even with all the enormous amount of “potential”, there has been no significant increase in the number of visitors this country has seen. There may be several factors causing this to happen as there are few speculations among the people about the inefficient policies, unfair prices and rates, unnecessary hassles, lack of infrastructures, and so on. As the political situation is more stable in recent years , there have been some positive efforts regarding the development of tourism industry. Promotions and advertising are being done by both the government and the public sector. The country is celebrating the year 2020 as a Visit Nepal .The Tribhuwan International Airport is being upgraded. New regional international airport are being constructed in Pokhara and Nijgadh. New policies are being drafted, among which one regarding the flight prices is being discussed currently. This policy is regarding the indifference in the airfare between the locals and the foreigners. As previously the airfare for foreigners were approximately four times than that for the locals, there were not so much tourists using the air transport. This is supposed to encourage foreign tourists to use domestic air transport. Likewise, these types positive policy changes are expected to come in near future.

The wait is finally over; it’s nearly the end of the year 2019.The country is preparing for welcoming the year 2020 with much of enthusiasm. The government and the people of the country have been busy campaigning and promoting Nepal as a ultimate tourist destination. Nepal being a country of diversity in diverse categories like culture, ethnicity, landscape, natural products, wildlife and many others; it has been recognized by various organizations worldwide as one of quality tourism destination. As a country with the potential of attracting tourists of different nationalities, the bar is set high as the country is expecting to increase the number of tourists to two million. Looking at the data of the previous years we can be hopeful that the goal is met. It is said that there is nothing without a flaw; likewise the country lacks in many different fields, either it is infrastructure or the reasonable prices. As the country has been through a lot of trauma in the last two decades, the people seem to be moving on with life. The excitement can be clearly seen in people and the businesses. The country seems like it is” rising like a phoenix from the ashes” of the tragedies it had to go through. The people and the country are ready to promote and execute this campaign. Even with all the flaws and incompetence, the government and the people are ready to provide services with much enthusiasm. For those who want to witness the diverse culture and nature, they will be provided with whatever the country is capable of . The smiling faces of the people and the hospitality will make the tourists forget about all the flaws in the infrastructure. There is a saying “Atithi debo bhava “which translates as “Guests are Gods” and this is how the tourists are expected to be treated. The services might not be a five star experience, but will be infused with all the love and hospitality that there is in the heart of the people and the nation. The country is just in transitioning phase after the change in the political situation. The efforts made by the government seem promising as there have been number of reforms in hope of developing the tourism industry. Different events and promotions are being done by the government and the public sector.There have been many defects in every part of the country which led this country to turmoil in the past but there is a saying time heals everything, likewise forgetting the bad deals and hoping for a smoother brighter and a prosperous tourism year. Hope this campaign will be fruitful to the Nation and the people.