Though the total number of total tourists has increased in this Himalayan district, the number of tourists from non-SAARC countries (referred to henceforth as international tourists), which brings major chunk of revenue, has decreased after motors reached Jomsom, the district headquarters. [break]
The advent of roads had made travel to the area cheaper, leading to a huge surge in internal tourists and tourists from the SAARC region. Muktinath Temple and Kagbeni are the major destinations for these tourists.
According to data collected by National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), the number of tourists to Mustang from SAARC countries increased by 5,072 or 132.3 percent as compared to the figures of same period last year.
Though there is no exact record of domestic tourists, hoteliers said the number has increased considerably. However, international tourists declined by 7 percent over the period, according to NTNC.
The increase in number, however, has not brought cheers to tourism entrepreneurs as internal tourists and visitors from the SAARC countries do not spend as much time and money as international visitors.
Majority of internal and SAARC tourists come for pilgrimage to Muktinath and they use vehicles to travel to Muktinath from Jomsom, bypassing hotels and restaurants along the trekking trail. Tourism entrepreneurs along the trail are suffering a lot due to decline in the number of international tourists.
Jomsom is a popular stopover on the Annapurna Circuit, which is among the 10 most famous trekking trails across the world.
“Earlier, tourist used to appreciate peace and quietness along the route. Now, they complain about pollution and congestion of vehicles in Jomsom,” said Pramila Gauchan, the owner of Xandu Hotel in Jomsom. She has been operating the hotel in Jomsom for the last two decades.
Although hotels in Jomsom are not suffering as much as those on the trekking trail do, hoteliers here are not happy about the current state of tourism. Most of them feel that tourism in the district lately has become unorganized.
Due to congestion of internal and SAARC region tourists, pollution has increased, Gauchan, who has been in the business for the last two decades, said. She also said most of the hotels are facing shortage of workers decade long insurgency and internal and international migration for employment.
“International tourists do not get proper accommodation due to overcrowding in peak seasons. They sleep outside in a sleeping bag,” Gauchan lamented.
Three domestic airlines operate around 15 flights a day to Jomsom, which entrepreneurs say is insufficient. They say it is very hard to get air tickets to Jomsom during peak seasons.
Local tourism entrepreneurs are also not excited about the Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011 campaign.
“Though a new trail is being developed considering the NTY 2011 campaign, it will take a long to establish rest stops and hotels along the trail,” Shyam Prasad Gauchan, the owner of Hotel Nilgiri View, said, adding, “This should have been done before the road was introduced two years back.”
As a part of promoting home-stay in the district, 35 households in Chimang village have been selected for training on cooking, baking and hospitality, Gauchan informed.
Proper management of tourism has been the major concern for tourism entrepreneurs in Jomsom. The necessary infrastructure should be there so that tourism can expand and bring enough revenue to the district, they said. “We welcome tourists as our guests, but we don´t want them to be stranded when they get here,” Gauchan said.
The future of tourism in Mustang clearly depends on proper balancing of tourists from inside the country and SAARC region, without affecting the flow of international tourists, increasing the capacity of tourism related businesses and addressing labor shortages, so that they can better serve tourists.
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