Showing posts with label Tourism Industry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tourism Industry. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

To niche or not to niche


I am not sure if any of our long term tourism strategists have any idea (or have even begun to think about it) of the type of tourists that we would like to have in this country. Do we want backpackers (who spend very less, but most of it does go into the local economy and there is very little leakage) or do we want executives (salaried but can afford a good package, no time to develop trips of their own and will pay enough, but some of it is leaked) or do we want 5 star travellers (who pay through their noses, travel around in air conditioned cars, and leak a lot out of the country anyways)..

Sorry to get into very politically incorrect generalisations, but I am generally not very politically correct, and am in an industry where generalisations help us deal with varied people, so here goes...

Do we want Indians, who have the money, will pay a lot, but will squeeze every paise out of the service provider. Do we want Japanese, who spend money, and do all the nice trips, but who will only follow, and will not go into new routes. Do we want Europeans, who want to do everything green. Do we want Americans, who are willing to spend money but are loud. Do we want young Israelis, who tend to fleece everything along their way, or do we want older Brits, who pay a lot and stay in the highest costing locations, but who rarely really see the country, and a lot of their money is leaked out.

Enough. Point is that we need to identify who we are trying to target... not ethnically discriminate, but build a general profile of the person we want to bring into the country... I would think a well paying client, who demands excellent service, is adventourous, is green and sustainable, and can pull another person when he/she goes back... (or something like that)

I only get shocked when, like today, the chinese ambassador calls for improved facilities so more Chinese tourists can come... but what does he mean by this... more 5 star hotels, more A/C cars, what? (http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2009/feb/feb11/news03.php) The only Chinese tourists I have seen come to Nepal have either been at the 5 star hotels, or those to utilise the 20 km limit set by the Nepalese Government from the kodari border (so upto Barabishe) they come in cars to eat at resorts like Borderlands, the Last Resort etc... (basically eat Dal Bhat, play Mah Jong, and later go back)... Comparing between the two, I think the ones coming from Kodari are contributing more to the local economy than the 5 star types....

So shall we define who we want? Is anyone listening?

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Trekking back on track!

Going by what is being reported, we might be just back on track, after seven/eight long years of being in the slump. News reports are now showing that the trekking business is rebounding back in giant leaps. Looks like "change" (the big buzzword nowadays in the world) in government was what was required in Nepal too. 


picture courtesy: rajesh k.c www.rajeshkc.com

Even the Khumbu reported choked villages in October, full of trekkers, and situation of not finding accomodation starting to happen. Read this in this Nepalitimes Article

It is difficult to say if this is a blessing or a curse. Tourism entrepreneurs who are reading this might have a shine in their eyes, and even have tears of joy (we are back in business! yaaah!) but the trekker who wants to peacefully enjoy his walking holiday will be like, how can I avoid this rush (damn, sounds like mass tourism!)

There is good news for both parties though. And you can read it in that article hyperlinked above, or in the synopsis right here. Some years ago, the idea of a trans Himalayan trekking route, stretching from Pakistan, and including Tibet, Nepal for most of the way, India and Sikkim began to emerge, and was called the Great Himalayan Trail. The idea was to create this trail that would take several months to complete, but would offer options for people to enter at a particular point and exit at another, giving rise to possibilities of several custom trips (and side trips)... this might save the industry in Nepal... creating increased possibilities for both industry professionals and for the clients alike, so that everyone does not have to tread the same ground.

This has multiple benefits of course. The trekking dominated tourism of Nepal, has mostly been limited to the Annapurna Region, the Everest Region and the Lantang Region, in that order. It is not that trekkers do not go to other areas, but few and far between (good for them, but a small critical mass is required for the industry as a whole and the infrastructure to develop). Also, for too long, these three areas have been the only ones to benefit directly form the tourism Dollar (Oops, should I rather say Euro or Pound?) so its high time the rest of Nepal (which is equally if not more beautiful) gets its share too.

Only recently has new routes such as the Chepang Hill Trail (to Chitwan), Renjo La Trail (Everest Region), the Tamang Heritage Trail (Langtang Region), and Nar Phu Valley trips (Annapurna Region) been worked on and marketed. Good news is trekking these new routes can result in (thankfully) smaller number of other trekkers.

Of course, traditional off the beaten trails like Dolpo, Kanchenjunga, Gauri Shankar Area and Humla have always been there and are reasonably developed, but for normal holiday makers with normal budgets, these are a bit expensive.

So, for the benefit of the Nepal Travel Advisory 

ADVISORY

1. Time your trek in the beginning or end of the tourism season. This will ensure that the villages are not crowded. You will also do something really responsible by doing this. Help spread the tourism season a bit more. Nepal is still beautiful. So when is this

Spring before season timings: early Feb or late April, May
Fall before season timings: End August or Late November, December

2. Be drastic, and choose to come in summer. Yeah, yeah everyone talks about the monsoon and all, but there are tons of areas in the rain shadow, and trekking in summer can be real real cool up there! Places like Manang, Mustang (ok, thats a bit expensive), Gosainkunda etc, can be real fun. We actually even have a big group coming next year in June - (peak summer/rainy season)to go up to Everest Base Camp, and i tell you, they WILL have a blast!

3. Forget the race to EBC, ABC, Kanjin Gompa, and try some of the Off the Beaten Trails... You will notice a drastic difference in the charm of trekking there.

4. Wait a few years, train a lot, and hit the Trans Himalayan Trail for three months, from Pakistan to the Northeastern border of India.

See you in the mountains!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Where is the Industry now?

This follows something that I have written about before, but it is important in my mind that we revisit it. Where is the tourism industry in Nepal today?

The tourism industry had taken quite a hit in the 10 or so years of insurgency in Nepal, which finally seems to have closed its chapter. We have other problems, but hopefully insurgency at a nationwide scale as before will not come now that the Maoists have come overground.

However, the industry proved its resilience, growing even during some peak turmoil years, after the initial shock and lowest point in 2001. I personally think that part of this growth was also a global trend, fueled by the 9/11 attacks, the Bali bombing, the Madrid bombing, and the London bombings, which all proved to people that there were worse problems than in Nepal, and really, we are not really safe anywhere. So people kept coming, and the tourism industry had enough people coming to keep it striving. It also did other things.

It made the industry resilient. The industry had learnt that they have to fend for themselves, and traditional agents in the markets were quick to be disloyal when the advisories went sour. This made companies making efforts at reaching to the market, going into trade fairs, starting building better websites and marketing direct. Clients now are dealing with better websites, service, and more professional companies than before.

Companies are also now more conscious of market requirements and responsibility issues. In 2006, a project on marketing of sustainable products of Nepal by UNEP, SNV, Nepal Tourism Board and the Nepal Government, got over 50 private sector operators join the Sustainable Tourism Network. Several of them got selected for the MAST project and received training and even attended some trade shows as part of the marketing effort. It does not prove much, but shows that operators are conscious and willing to make changes for the market.

Internationalism is also coming in. Nepal recently hosted a major international mountain biking championship, actively does an international kayak championship every year, and boasts the highest marathon in the world, the Everest Marathon, which starts at 5350 meters or so at the Everest Base Camp and ends at 3440 at Namche Bazaar. (interesting fact: the first race was won by a Nepalese trekking cook!)

So the message is: Nepal is more than ready. If anything good came out of the insurgency, it did make the industry more resilient and professional.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...