Sagar Shrestha

Unproductive consumption of goods is honuorable”, Thorstein Veblen connoted this human behaviour in his book “Theory of the Leisure Class” all the way back in 1899. An economist-cum--anthropologist, Veblen set forth the formal study of leisure economy, the human propensity towards wealth and the behavioural aspect pertaining to gaining the pecuniary status. And, it was for the leisure class and elites who travelled. The Grand Tour in the 17th century prevailed around upper-class European young men, accompanied with chaperones (especially by females), where it would be a tour relating to study of the Germanic culture and Western civilisation. And, during the 17th century, Europe had, seen division of classes based on birth and occupation.

Disposable income
Tourism in the earlier days had always been an experience for those having wealth. In economic terms, we say that the availability of disposable income is a positive sign for tourism to foster. And, the organised tourism during that time would be a subject that goes against engaging in occupations. Even today, travel and tourism has always been a conspicuous showoff for any individual as an insignia of honour. Veblen calls for emulating higher class by possession of greater wealth to enhance personal comfort and decent livelihood. Seemingly, this makes tourism a subject for eternal pleasure and comfort.
Coming to the current times, the wealthy leisure-class people are business travellers, niche Grey tourists and evergreen elite classes who are always on vacation spending heftily on their personal pleasure or official comfort. The demand for high-end business class tickets for top notch airlines would never be abating. Airlines are investing more into business classes.

Cruises are raising their standards and also increasing their prices. It would be a matter of pecuniary status and pride to be involved in cruising and travelling with a business class airline ticket to executive suite-penthouse rental at Seven Star. The branding and advertisement will play an important role in making people emulate others by touring. It defines the leisure of the society and the world as a whole.
Theory of the Leisure Class discusses ostentation by females from any household to prepare and administer luxuries. That is why Marilyn Monroe tapped on to the song ‘Diamonds Are Girl’s Best Friend’. Ideally, tourism has been confronted by involvement of women. Like the Grand Tour had female chaperones, who were basically taking care of the travelers, all the luxuries would have been administered by chaperones. Similarly, even today empowered women are the source of demand generation for touristic activity. Tourism thus can be a commodity for naive ostentation. Today, we have beautiful models that are driving the inspirations. The rise of ‘digital influencers’ posing with narcissist posture would have definitely been a marketing strategy by tourism offices. Companies in the tourism ecosystem are finding influencers the most important form of marketing.
Scrumptious dining at posh restaurants and staying at the most expensive resorts all displayed in the highest level bodily attraction in form of photos, shares and likes of the digital social media, which according to Veblen would be an ostensible display of leisure. It’s like an award one gratifies to oneself by travelling places and more attaining the luxury and leisure with the uncanny support from woman companionship.

For Nepal, the conspicuous consumption could be clearly the tourism activities in mountains. Increasing investments in luxury resorts in the plain south and the national capital would definitely attract the leisure class tourists from home and abroad, especially India. Wryly not for Europeans and slowly opening Arab markets, trekking and expedition are peculiar nature gifted boon for Nepal. And these adventure activities have been marketed across the planet.

The trekking and expeditions for many people coming to Nepal have been a matter of pride and conspicuous consumption. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, high-profile Bahraini Prince’s frequent travels to Nepal for mountaineering have helped promote the country’s mountain tourism among the world’s leisure class.
Travelling to Nepal, thus, now should be gratifying as well as transcending in the sense of consuming tourism as a product. By indulging in tourism activities, especially trekking and expeditions, could be branded in the human psyche as a matter of leisure and ultimate luxury. Other mountainous nations like Switzerland have managed to gain the epitome of high-end tourism and travellers of leisure class.

Many elites of the tourism fraternity time and again lobby hard for making Nepal a ‘high-end luxury market’. Why cannot a standard of conspicuous consumption be the standard for branding Nepal as a destination for luxury and utmost humbling hospitality (which we are already famous for)? Marketers could focus on making travelling to Nepal a lifetime event as an accomplishment to the top of the world. An intelligent marketer will drill to women’s thought and picturisation of the country as a worthy destination for vicarious consumption.

Activity of self-actualisation
Many mountaineers and trekkers from the Western world relate Nepal, specially climbing mountains as an activity of ‘self-actualisation’, which in Maslow’s hierarchy is the highest level of personal gratification, but in recent times, the market competition among Nepali tour operators have brought down the ‘price’ of luxury and self-actualisation. In oriental civilization, it would take sacrificing up worldly luxury to attain one's better self.

Experiences gained by mountaineers and trekkers travelling and climbing the high altitudes in Nepal have made them achieve the ‘self-actualisation’ with ease in terms of price. To attain the pinnacle of inner self, it should not be as such. There should be a rise in the price of travelling and experiencing Nepal. Tourism, as a product for Nepal, could be Veblen’s goods, where the rise of price to touring Nepal would generate greater demand. This has become true for trekking and expedition. Even during the pandemic, members of the leisure class come to Nepal with a 10-day quarantine to be baffled by self-esteem and unscathed solace.

(Shrestha is an officer at Nepal Tourism Board and pursuing MPhil in Economics at Nepal Open University. sagars@ntb.org.np)