While Western tourists, primarily from the US and Europe, were the mainstay of the country’s tourism business until recently, they are slowly but surely being replaced by the Chinese. In the first nine months of this year alone, 30,000 Chinese tourists visited the country, which is an aggregate growth of a whopping 61 percent. As China continues to prosper, this trend is only going to get stronger.
However, while we focus on China, we should not forget to pay equal attention to our southern neighbor that too is growing at a rapid pace. It is true that the Indians have always been coming to Nepal due to our deep cultural and religious ties. But, until now, while tourists from India used to visit Nepal mainly for religious purposes, there is going to be a sea change in this phenomenon as Indians get richer and flush with disposable income. In the years to come, there will be a lot of Indians visiting Nepal for other activities aside from religious.
While those already in this line of business have to adjust their venture in view of these realities, newer players, at the same time, have tremendous prospects. But the key lies in being prepared. Tour and travel agents have already started whining that they are facing a dearth of adequately-trained Chinese-speaking guides. As more and more tourists from the north start flocking to Nepal, this gap is only going to widen if we do not start taking appropriate steps immediately.
Besides the specificities linked with this emerging market revolving around Chinese and Indian tourists, there are, of course, a lot of other issues touching the entire tourism market that needs urgent attention. To start with, we need more hotels to accommodate this flow of tourists. Tribhuvan International Airport, the only international airport of the country, needs a major uplift.
Even while that happens, we should not lose focus from the fact that Nepal needs another international airport sooner rather than later. The bottom line is that we should do everything, and as quickly as possible, to tap into this emerging market without for once ignoring our traditional markets. As is wisely said: “Old is gold, new is silver, make new friends but keep the old.”
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