BMD

Tourism in Nepal has been one of the worst-hit sectors since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic about one and a half years ago. With the fast transmission of the new fatal virus around the world, tourism, as a very susceptible business, has suffered a great setback globally.
The year 2020 was the most unfavourable period in Nepal’s decades-long tourism history. It received only 230,085 international tourists last year, according to the Economic Survey-2020/21. It was the fall of tourist arrival by 81 per cent as compared to the figure of 2019. Revenue generation from this sector also dropped significantly. In 2020, Nepal earned just Rs. 24.95 billion in revenue from this sector. This amount is almost 70 per cent less than that of the previous year. Tens of thousands of people engaged in the tourism industry have lost their jobs to the pandemic.
The year also witnessed a massive 95 per cent decline in the number of mountaineers visiting Nepal to attempt various mountains as the country remained closed to foreigners due to the pandemic. This led to a fall of 98 per cent in royalty collection during the year.
But the country has seen a resumption of mountaineering activities in spring this year despite the second wave of COVID-19. More than 300 climbers from around the world reached the summit of Sagarmatha alone. Several new records were also set in the mountaineering field. The Department of Tourism (DOT) had issued permits to more than 400 climbers. The continuation of such activities has created a lot of confidence among climbers and expedition operators.
Once the pandemic subsides, the government will reopen country to foreign tourists. Tourism is still one of the nation's priority areas as it significantly contributes to generating foreign exchanges and jobs. In its budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2021/22, the federal government has come up with some new plans to revive the industry.
As demanded by tourism entrepreneurs, the government has also announced a free visa to foreign tourists for one month. The provision will come into effect from July 16. This incentive is expected to attract more international travellers into the country as soon as the contagion is brought under control.
It is said that every dark cloud has a silver lining. As a vaccination campaign against the disastrous virus disease has been going on worldwide, the situation may return to normalcy in the near future.
In line with the new budget, tourism will now enjoy the same facilities and incentives as the manufacturing industries. Another key policy shift is that the government has introduced a provision of providing 10 days' paid tourism leave to civil servants and employees of public enterprises and other institutions. Even the private businesses will have to offer this facility to their staffs to boost domestic tourism. The private sector had been lobbying for this policy. Besides, the government is to open a sports school to develop the country into an excellent sports tourism destination.
The budget has also given continuity to tourism infrastructure development programme running on a cost sharing basis with the local and provincial governments. The government will also implement an integrated tourism infrastructure development programme in collaboration with the private sector to diversify and expand tourism activities across the country. If implemented effectively, these provisions are sure to help revive this vital sector.