According to a proposal made by the Nepal Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA), foreign tourists visiting Nepal in 2011 would not be charged any visa fee. The initiative has been taken ahead of the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 campaign.
The proposal of wavering visa fee was suggested by the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 National Coordination Committee. Then MoTCA has sent the proposal to the Ministry of Finance recommending it to be included in the upcoming budget for the year 2010/11.
Each of the foreign tourists visiting Nepal, except those from the SAARC countries, now pays $25 for a 15-day visa and $40 for a 40-day visa.
Now, Nepal is trying to boost up its flourishing tourism industry by attracting more tourists from various parts of the world. That is the reason MoTCA has taken up the Nepal Tourism Year 2011 project. More than half a million foreign tourists visited Nepal in 2009, but the country is now expecting over one million tourists in 2011.
Nepal has many tourist-attraction places including HimalayanMountain, PokharaValley, Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha, Gosainkunda lake, and many others.
Nepal’s tourism sector contributes a lot to its economy. The number of tourists visiting Nepal has been increased significantly over the last few years since the country’s political condition has been stable. Now, Nepal government is taking up various initiatives to attract more tourists in the country.
According to the Economic Survey 2009-10, the number of tourist arrivals in Nepal increased but the duration of stay decreased.
The survey revealed that in 2009, among the arrivals, 34 percent came for recreational purpose. In 2008, this figure was 29.6 percent. On an average, tourist arrival increased by 1.9 percent in 2009 in Nepal but average length of stay declined to 11.6 days in 2009 compared to 11.8 days in 2008.
Tourism is the biggest foreign currency earning sector in Nepal. Every year, large number of tourists visits the country. A large portion of these tourists come for trekking and mountaineering.
Prachanda Man Shreshtha, CEO, Nepal Tourism Board, said, “The significant rise in the number of visitors coming for recreation is a result of the increasing options for leisure activities in Nepal.”
The survey also revealed a slight increase of 10.4 percent from 9 percent in 2008 in the number of visitors coming for pilgrimage in 2009. Tourists coming for trekking and mountaineering accounted for 20.9 percent of the total number of tourists who visited Nepal in 2009.
Tourists started to stay longer in Nepal in 2006 after the peace accord which ended the Maoist conflict. However, due to political instability, strikes, and bandhs, the number declined. The hotels also suffered labor unrest in 2009 which also forced many visitors to cut short their tours.
Rajy Bikram Shah, General Manager, Shangri-La Hotel, blamed the economic recession which forced vacationers to go for shorter holidays. David Yonjan of Yeti Travels said that there had not been any drastic change and the length of the stay depends of the tour package.
Tourism is perhaps the most important sector for Nepalese economy when it comes to earning foreign exchange. It is a beautiful country full of natural beauty and rich history. Nepal is the birthplace of Buddha and for this matter alone, it has the potential to attract thousands of visitors from around the world. There are several major obstacles and political instability is perhaps the worst thing for the growth of tourism in any country. Now, the political parties have pledged ‘no strike’ for the welfare of this sector.
Sixteen major parties of Nepal, including the opposition Maoists who are seeking a change in the government, pledged not to enforce any general strikes or violent protests as Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal Friday kicked off a campaign that seeks to bring at least 1 million tourists in 2011.
A 'peace lamp' that was lit Sunday in Lumbini town in southern Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha, the apostle of peace, was brought to Kathmandu by five marathon runners who have represented Nepal in the Olympic Games in the past, to kick off the campaign for Nepal Tourism Year 2011.
I am not very hopeful about this ‘no strike pledge’ because there is deep division among political leaders in the country. This pledge looks like a political stunt to me. Still, I am very happy with it simply because the political parties have started to realize that people are not very fond of strikes and political instability. They want development of economy in the country.
Nepalese government is perhaps happy to see growing number of foreign tourists despite the fact that the global economy is suffering from a bad recession. The interesting thing is that in September, there has been 32% more tourists coming China while 24% less number of people from India came here. Well, I think that the economic recession is the main reason because Indian economy is suffering a lot from recession. The arrival of Bangladeshi people increased substantially and I am not surprised at it because in September 2009, we had Eid ul Fitr and Durga Puja. There was a long holiday and naturally many people came to Nepal.
In the SAARC region, arrivals from Bangladesh skyrocketed to 1,898 registering positive growth of 245.7 percent. Similarly, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have witnessed positive growth of 8.4 percent and 10.2 percent respectively. However the arrivals from India have decreased by 24 percent compared to the same month last year. In aggregate the South Asian segment has registered a negative growth of 5.7 percent.
Traditionally, Nepal is considered to be country under Indian influence. However, it seems that the growing power of the Maoists in Nepal is changing this equation and I will not be surprised if in the coming years, China has growing influence in the country.
Nepal may be a small country in the Himalayan region, but it is a famous tourist destination. Out of the ten highest mountains in the world, seven are situated in Nepal. Tourism is the main foreign currency earner of Nepal but it suffered a major setback for the country’s political instability. Finally, with the establishment of democratic government in 2006 the political instability ended. Due to the economic recession, number of tourists declined, but the trekkers are always coming to Nepal in search of adventures. Here is a list of top ten tourist attractions in Nepal:
Kathmandu:
Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal. It is also the biggest and most happening city of the country. Kathmandu is actually the hometown of the Newars. The name “Kathmandu” comes from two Sanskrit words “Kaastha Mandap.” Kaastha means wood and Mandap means shade or cover. Existence of human habitation in the Kathmandu valley can be traced back to 900 B.C. The oldest building in this area is one thousand years old. Lord Buddha came to this valley in 6th century B.C. Kathmandu mainly consists of two three cities: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Many old Hindu and Buddhist temples and buildings can be found in Kathmandu. Some of the popular tourist sites are: Swayambunath temple, King's Palace Thamel chowk, Nasal chowk, Pashupatinath temple.
Bhaktapur:
Bhaktapur or popularly known Bhadgaon is situated at an altitude of 1401m and covers an area of four square miles. The city still retained its medieval charm which is very much enjoyable to any visitors.
Pokhara:
Pokhara is a beautiful city situate in a tranquil valley. It is also the starting point for trekking and rafting destinations. If you want to take pictures of the Himalayas then you should go to the township of Tansen. The town is situated near the Srinagar Danda hill from where visitors can get the beautiful panoramic view of the Terai plains and the Himalayas. Gorkha is a hill-town which offers some beautiful scenery. It is situated on a small hillock at an attitude of about 1000 m from where you can see the snow covered mountains.
Lumbini and Janakpur:
Situated in the South-Western Terai of Nepal it is the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Every year, thousands Buddhists come to visit this place. The area is also very rich in natural beauty. Janakpur is another holy city which is named after the famous King Janak. Janakpur was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Mithila and the birthplace of Sita, the heroine of Ramayana. Today Janakpur is one of the cleanest towns of Terai.
Chitwan national park:
Established in 1973, ChitwanNational Park is the oldest national park in Nepal situated in the subtropical inner Terai lowlands of South-Central Nepal. In 1984, the park was designated as a world Heritage site. About 70% of the vegetation of the park is sal forest. The park contains Churiya hills, ox-bow lakes and flood plains of Rapti, Reu and Narayanirivers. The remaining vegetation types are grassland (20%), riverine forest (7%), and sal with chirpine (3%). The Saccharun species aka elephant grass can be found in this area which can reach a height of 8 meter. The shorter grasses are used for thatch roofs. There are 43 mammal species including the famous one-horned rhinoceros, the tiger, the gharial crocodile, wild elephant, four-horned antelope, striped hyena, pangolin, Gangetic dolphin, monitor lizard and python. Other animals found in the park include the sambar, chital, hog deer, barking deer, sloth bear, palm civet, langur and rhesus monkey. Ther are over 450 species of birds in the park.
Sagarmatha national park:
SagarmathaNational Park is located to the north-east of Kathmandu in the Khumbu region of Nepal. The highest peak of the world, Mount Everest is also situated in this park. There are several other well known peaks such as Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kwangde, Kangtaiga and Gyachung Kang. In 1979, the park was added to the list of World Heritage Sites. Vegetation of the park includes pine and hemlock forests at lower altitudes, fir, juniper, birch and rhododendron woods, scrub and various alpine plants. The Sagarmatha national park is home to tahr, goral, serow and musk deer. The snow leopard and Himalayan black bear can also be seen in this region. Other rarely seen mammals include the weasel, marten, Himalayan mouse hare (pika), jackal and langur monkey.
LangtangNational Park:
The LangtangNational Park occupies an area of 1,710 sq. kms extending from the North of Kathmandu to the Nepal-China (Tibet) border. Situated in the central Himalayan region, the LangtangNational Park is the nearest park from Kathmandu. The park contains two major river systems- one goes to the west into the TrisuliRiver and the goes to the east to the Sun Koshi river. The topography and geography and the varied climatic patterns contributed to the diversity of flora in this region. At 1000 meter height there is small subtropical forest, at mid-elevation, there are temperate oak and pine forests with alpine scrub and grasses. Oaks, chir pine, maple, fir, blue pine, hemlock, spruce and various species of rhododendron make up the main forest species. Animals include wild dogs, red panda, pika, muntjack, musk deer, Himalayan black bear, Himalayan tahr, ghoral, seraw, rhesus monkey and common langur.
Trekking:
Any writing on Nepal tourism will be incomplete without trekking. Probably, trekking is the best way to enjoy the true beauty Nepal has to offer. Nepal is home to seven of the top ten highest mountains in the world. Every year, hundreds of trekkers from around the world come to Nepal to climb mountains. The beautiful pictures of the snow covered mountains, turbulent rivers, rhododendron forests are unforgettable. Trekking is done from October to May but the best months are October and November.
Mount Everest:
The Khumbu region is home to the highest peak in the world; Mount Everest. This area is also home of Sherpas. Trekkers walk through the rolling hills of the Solu region and the roadhead at Jiri. Many trekkers also fly into the village of Lukla. From Lukla, trekkers go to the town of Namche Bazaar where they acclimatize to the high altitude. The region is also home to the SagarmathaNational Park. Beyond Namche Bazaar, there is the Sherpa village named Khumjung. The famous monastery of Thyangboche is situated in this area. From Namche Bazaar, trekkers can go to the village of Thame or to the two main Khumbu routes. One goes to the Gokyo lake while the other towards the Everest base camp.
Helambu Langtong:
The Helambu valley offers some scenic grandeur and pleasant climate. Situated to the north of Kathmandu the region is filled with temperate forest, alpine pastures, glaciers, lakes and snowy peaks. One can also see the Tamanag and sherpa life. Trekkers can stay in highland monastery villages and small settlements. There is a mountain pass above Helambu through the lakes of Gosaikunda reaching the valley of Langtang. The Gosaikunda lake is situated at 4,380 meters. The lake is known to be sacred to Lord Shiva and every summer thousands of religious Hindus come to take a holy dip into the waters of the holy lake. The trek passes through a varied landscape. Trekkers can see sub-alpin gransslands and stark, beautiful mountainsides and turbulent streams.
Annapurna:
Annapurna is the most popular trek of Nepal. It begins at the lakeside town of Pokhara. It takes six or seven days to go around the Annapurna Massif. On their way, dramatic changes will be visible in the landscape, climate and culture. There is a village named Jomsom, near the isolated land of Mustang. From there, trekkers go to the sacred shrine of Muktinath which is situated at 5,145 meter at the Thorang-La pass. There is the valley of Manang and the route through Manang will take you to the Kathmandu-Pokhara highway.
Kanchenjunga:
Mountain Kanchenjunga lies at the far eastern border of Nepal. It is 8586 meter long and the third highest peak in the world. The valley near the mountain is opened for organized treks. Tourists would be able to see some of the richest and most pristine forests of Nepal while going through the treks of Kanchenjunga. Since there are no human habitations in this region, trekkers are required to bring along foods and camping equipments. Most of the time trekkers fly in and out of Taplejung.
