Oped»
Dos and don’ts
FEB 09 -
On most sunny days, a spectacular Himalayan panorama greets airborne travellers as their aircraft descends into the Kathmandu Valley. Bird’s-eye views of green hills, terraced fields, villages and towns look near perfect from the sky. It’s a nature-lover’s Shangri-La. Things don’t appear as fascinating on the ground, though. The buses transferring passengers from the aircraft to the terminal look all right. But inside the terminal, the toilets don’t flush, luggage carts don’t work and officials don’t smile much. Free tourism brochures and maps help. But the mobs of taxi drivers shouting at you don’t help much. That’s not pleasant.
All around, things are quite out of order. And that’s the first impression arriving travellers are getting about Nepal. Nasty experiences are what they are taking away. Even then, welcome songs are being sung, beauties and glam dolls are being roped in, new posters are being launched, welcome banners are being put up, and grandiose plans are being drawn up to roll out the red carpet for one million foreign visitors in 2011, the Tourism Year.
In contrast, nothing, absolutely nothing, is being done to systematise or upgrade the airports, highways, roads, pavements, major tourist districts and, most importantly, basic amenities and facilities. Not only for foreign visitors, that kind of basic living infrastructure makes everybody’s life easier and better.
Hoopla
But with less than a year to go for the much-hyped Tourism Year, where’s the will and the wherewithal to change things for the better? What’s being done to attract one million arrivals and the millions of locals who are finding it difficult to live in their own country? Where’s the red carpet, in the first place? Nothing of that sort exists today, thanks to the culture of complacency. Add to that anarchy, a recent phenomenon. Enter the city. Traffic bottlenecks show no signs of easing. Traffic rules don’t seem to exist. Even if they do, they are seldom enforced or followed. More often than not, streets and major junctions remain littered with heaps of garbage, much to the chagrin of the town dwellers.
Spitting is quite common. As is jaywalking and other rowdy behaviour. In the tourist district of Thamel, near a big heap of garbage, street children take turns sniffing glue or dendrite, or smoking a cigarette. As dusk falls, members of the city’s LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) community, also called third-gender folks, flock Tridevi Marg, the gateway to Thamel.
Well dressed and decorated, the teshrolingis chitchat with passers-by. Occasionally, they have also been found to be harassing people. On a recent evening, one of them spat into a passing car — probably an indication that the community has grown much more empowered and organised yet undisciplined. That may be the reason why the LGBTIs are frowned upon by many, and chased away and harassed by the cops. Bad news for those contemplating developing Nepal as a tourism destination for international LGBTIs.
Unregulated
But the cops can’t (or don’t?) do much. Especially when local passers-by, often in an inebriated state, start peeing at the wall right outside the SAARC headquarters, or the Tridevi temples. Or when a new generation of motorcycle-borne armed robbers attack the local money changer. Or when a taxi driver blocks the way. The policemen don’t do much even when pimps or drug peddlers prowl the streets looking for clients, except, occasionally, raiding illegally run brothels. Thanks to the noisy motorcycles and taxis that race uncontrollably, the alleyways of Thamel are a nightmare for pedestrians. Like it or not, Lakeside in Pokhara and Sauraha in Chitwan are going the same way.
If something is not forthcoming, the trekking trails in the Annapurna, Langtang and Everest regions could meet the same fate; their “far-from-the-madding-crowd” Shangri-La image might get spoilt. Tourism does bring in much needed foreign exchange and helps the impoverished economy. But if left uncontrolled and unregulated, it could also spoil the country’s nature and culture. Worse, it could spoil the country’s image.
Having peaked in 1998 during Visit Nepal Year when 500,000 arrivals were recorded, Nepal’s tourism industry has struggled to grow in the subsequent years — but with fluctuating success. Thanks to the decade-long conflict, the industry suffered a series of blows post-2001 state of emergency. Three years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006, the industry is still struggling to bounce back.
Mega show
Right now, the stage is pretty much set for Tourism Year 2011. Officials are working hard to prepare a calendar of events, publicise them and launch the mega campaign to welcome one million tourists. Plans are afoot to accommodate some of them in private houses in case the existing hotels and lodges don’t suffice.
The slogan — Together for Tourism — is catchy. But the ground reality bites. Things need to change in 2011. Nepal needs sustainable and eco-friendly tourism. Local communities and stakeholders are the biggest change makers. They are the real guardians of Nepal’s natural and cultural heritage. To begin with, I would like to propose a radical change in these areas:
Improve policing, ensure safety and security.
Control labour unrest, better train staff, guides.
Ban littering, sort out the garbage problem for ever.
Build public toilets in towns and along highways.
Punish those spitting or urinating in public.
Ban motorcycles in heritage areas.
Ban unnecessary honking.
Regulate night culture, bars.
Promote cycling and walking culture.
Plant lots of trees, develop riverside parks.
Go for public-private partnership or community leadership.
(The author is an avid traveller and winner of the Nepal Tourism Board’s Travel Writer of the Year 2001 award)
nepal.surendra@gmail.com
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