Missing out on Nepal’s tourism potential

While Nepal’s tourism numbers have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, domestic incompetence and regional geopolitics are holding back numbers for the coming year.

International media coverage of frequent aviation and highway disasters in 2024 also dampened arrivals, and not much was done to restore confidence in neighbouring China and India as well as make Nepal’s presence felt in international travel marts.

The Indian pilgrim bus that killed 27 on the Pokhara-Kathmandu route, or the helicopter crash in which four Chinese nationals died, both in August, led to cancellations.

The reality is that Nepal sells itself because of its unique attractions: the world’s highest mountains, adventure sports, cultural heritage. International visitors come to Nepal despite high ticket prices, complicated visa processes, poor domestic connectivity, and bad press about high pollution levels in Kathmandu.

Ticket prices are inflated because of the high price of refuelling airliners and expensive handling charges at Kathmandu airport. Most countries have gone for e-visas, and Nepal should just reciprocate and stamp passports for visitors from countries that give Nepalis visas on arrival. 

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Horror stories about the condition of Nepal’s highways have spread through social media posts, as have tales of notorious air pollution levels. It is surprising that tourists still come in the numbers they do despite knowing this.

Those problems need longer-term solutions, but there are low-hanging fruit: facilitate easier arrival formalities at airports and land borders. Pilgrims have posted on social media about having to wait six hours for visas trying to travel overland from India to Lumbini on the Buddhist circuit.

Geopolitics can be blamed for Bhairawa and Pokhara airports not taking off -- India’s refusal to grant air routes for flights from the west and descent over its territory, as well as linking Indian cities to Pokhara because its international airport was built by the Chinese. 

But that does not absolve the Nepal government and its agencies from blame for not marketing Lumbini and Pokhara in East Asian markets during the delayed construction of the airports, and even three years after completion. 

Most existing promotion is done by private sector companies involved in mountaineering and trekking, hotels and conference organisers. The government’s role has been restricted to junkets by officials, ministers giving speeches and hand-wringing about India not allowing flights. 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) literally arm-twisted airlines to fly to Bhairawa by using the upgrading work at Kathmandu airport till end-March as an excuse. The airlines are not happy about it, and complain of inadequate facilities there.

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But for some reason Nepal’s own carrier Himalaya Airlines faced no such pressure to fly to Bhairawa or Pokhara. Bhairawa is not even used as an alternative airport by Nepal Airlines when Kathmandu airport is closed due to poor visibility.

Lack of permission by India on the westbound L626 airway has no bearing on connecting Pokhara and Bhairawa to flights from China, Thailand, Singapore or Malaysia. Thai Air Asia is finally operating one flight a week from Bangkok’s Don Muang, bringing Buddhist pilgrims directly to Lumbini, and Sichuan Air has flown charters to Pokhara from Chengdu. 

Given the popularity of Pokhara and Lumbini in China, and the advantage for Chinese tourists who want to avoid Kathmandu, there should have been more proactive promotion by Nepal of flights from Lhasa, Kunming or Chengdu.

Nepal is already a preferred destination for international and regional conferences because of its neutrality and ease of entry. Most conferences are conducted by international agencies, the private sector and involve the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) with little government help.

The Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) Nepal chapter is hosting the tri-nation Nepal India China Expo (NICE) in Pokhara 24-26 February. Originally planned for 2020, it was postponed because of Covid, and organisers hope it will promote better connectivity for Pokhara in 2025 and beyond. 

Instead of promoting Pokhara, government officials have made unsubstantiated claims that its airport is not suitable for Boeing 737s and Airbus320s, planes that operate without difficulty in airports with even more challenging terrain like Paro or Leh.

The government needs to work on a long-term strategy to promote quality tourism, but government decisions are ad hoc, lack coordination and are not followed through. 

Helicopter flights to Everest Base Camp were banned, lifted and banned again – the confusion ridiculed on social media.