Editorial»
NTB facing bigger challenge ahead
DEC 31 - The history of Nepali tourism began with the dawn of democracy after the end of the hundred four- year Rana autocratic rule. But there are so many factors that had led the boast of tourism well before the tourism formally made an entry into Nepal. In fact, the Himalayan expeditions that have been undertaken since 1924 have brought Nepal in the international tourism map. The first Everest expedition by George Mallory (38), a British schoolteacher, and Andrew Irvine (28), a student at Cambridge in 1924 heralded adventure tourism in Nepal. The first successful over-flight on two open-cockpit Westland aircraft and aerial photographic survey of Mount Everest by Royal Air Force Lieutenant David McIntyre and the Scottish Marquess of Clydesdale on April 3, 1933 and the first flight over Mount Everest by Lord Clydesdale had constantly brought Nepal into the news. However, the ascent of Maurice Herzog on Annapurna in 1950 subsequently followed by his book on Annapurna and drew the attention of countless tourists and alpine lovers about the beauty and grandeur of Nepal. An article on Nepal that appeared in National Geographic in 1950 also added a new dimension in promoting Nepal as a beautiful country endowed with unparallel mountain range and natural bio-diversity. The conquest of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, Sherpa of Nepal on May 29, 1953 was a milestone in the history of Nepalese tourism because it did not only put Nepal on the top of world in terms of media publicity but also opened a new vista in the field of adventure tourism.
The gravity of tourism industry and its multiplier effect in the lives of Nepali people had been realized in 1957. Tourism administration was formed in 1957 setting up a Tourist Office in the Department of Industry following the establishment of a Tourist Development Board under the same Department in 1956. In 1959, the office was upgraded to department level, the then formed Department of Tourism moved through a number of ministries until it was accommodated in the Ministry of Industry and Commerce in 1966.
Under the Act to provide for Regulations and Development of Tourism of 1964, an advisory committee for tourism was set up in 1968. A year later the committee was replaced by Nepal Tourism Development Committee.
Major breakthrough in the Nepalese tourism came in 1972 in a form of Nepal Tourism Master Plan. The much sought-after Nepal Tourism Master Plan was prepared by Nepal Tourism Development Committee under the coordination of Department of Tourism with the technical help of government of Germany. It strongly recommended the formation of Ministry of Tourism and Culture for the international promotion and infrastructure development. To the dismay of tourism entrepreneurs, the Ministry of Tourism came into existence only in 1977.
As an effort to bridge the gap between private and public sector, the Government and UNDP took initiative to form public- private partnership for quality tourism development in Nepal establishing a Partnership for Quality Tourism (PQT) project from July 1994 to December 1998. The project was instrumental in making concrete recommendations for the establishment of Nepal Tourism Board based on its observation and study of some countries in Southeast Asia. Based on the recommendations of PQT and as per Tourism policy guidelines of 1995, Nepal Tourism Board came into exist after the enactment of Nepal Tourism Board Act- 2053 and started working as an independent entity from January 01, 1999 replacing Department of Tourism. The Board is the public-private partnership model very similar to STPB, which incorporates the leadership and directives of the government and participation of the private sector.
Formed under the private public-partnership concept, Nepal Tourism Board has been given mandate to develop Nepal as an attractive travel destination by maintaining, improving and diversifying the quality of tourism products and services in the country and promoting them effectively in the international marketplace. Though it appears to be an easy task to carry out, NTB has been facing a big challenge in realizing its goals prescribed by the government as its objectives.
Despite the hardship the NTB endured in the initial phase of its operation, it has been successful in branding it as a premier National Tourism Organisation nationally and internationally. The role it assumed after the dissolution of Department of Tourism has been so wide-ranging and broad that whatever it does, it looks insufficient to cater the interest of all sectors.
Over the last five years, the major thrust NTB has given are international promotion and publicity. Apart from participating in travel fairs and marts, roadshows and sales mission, NTB organised many Familiarization (Fam) Trips for foreign media, travel writers, TV crew and tour operators which have given very positive image of Nepal as a tourist destination. Getting Nepal a berth in the BBC’s 50 Places To See Before You Die in 2002 itself is a big achievement for NTB. Nepal was ranked 30th in a worldwide survey of tourist destination carried out by BBC in 2002. Nepal had been voted second best in the top country category out of 180 countries in the Wanderlust Travel Awards 2001. The coveted award was based on a comprehensive readers survey carried out by UK-based travel publication, Wanderlust. A survey carried out by the World Tourism Organisation in 2002 ranked Nepal first as an eco-tourism destination in the UK market and was the third most preferred eco-tourism destinations in the German market.
In the tourism products and resources development front, NTB has worked in partnership with various agencies like Kathmandu Municipal Corporation, SPCC, ACAP, KEEP, SNV, NTV, and Radio Nepal in the areas of nature conservation, tourism awareness enhancement and tourism development and promotion. It regularly organises tourism festivals in different parts of the country to promote destinations in collaboration with local parties The newly focused sites of NTB for tourism development throughout the country include Aantu Danda, Basantpur, Dhanusha Dham, Tansen & Khaptad with their surrounding areas.
NTB’s present challenge is twofold- to address the problems faced by tourism industry at home, and to reposition Nepal’s image as a premier tourism destination in the international tourism market. Given the present scenario of the country, nobody can expect a miracle from NTB, for it has no magic stick to open floodgate of tourists in Nepal. Though NTB has quality of savoir-faire, it cannot play the role of saviour of Nepal’s tourism industry because of its own limitation and resource crunch. Since NTB runs through the two-percent Tourism Service Fee collected from tourists, all marketing, promotional and development activities depend on the arrival of tourists in Nepal. So it is equally important for Nepal Tourism Board to take the confidence-building measure to woo tourists in Nepal. Managing crisis is only an emergency step to streamline the measure to stem the crisis for sometimes. It is the reputation management that works in the long term. Since the reputation of Nepal as a destination has already been at stake due to crisis beyond its control, the reputation management is a key to regain the lost glory. Reputation management has lately emerged as a core competency for travel and tourism stakeholders because it better prepares the National Tourism Orgnisation like NTB to develop and position its brands, establish relationships with the news media and develop states of readiness for times of crisis. Posted on: 2003-12-31 02:47
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