Nepal

The Rising

Ever since its inception in 1999, Nepal Tourism Board has been trying to rebuild the country's image and overcoming hurdles - negative publicity and a fund crunch being the more recent ones. But Tek Bahadur Dangi, its CEO, is optimistic about the growing market as he explains the Board's latest plans

Reconstruction is sometimes more difficult than starting afresh. But Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has managed to jump-start the country's repositioning process full throttle. For instance, its Visit Nepal Year '98 rejuvenated its tourism industry with the country consequently welcoming almost half a million tourist arrivals that year.

Another milestone in the history of Nepal tourism was the Golden Jubilee Celebration in May 2003 of the first ascent of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. Although it was allotted meager budget, it created major media publicity.

Business Strategies

At this juncture, Nepal is focusing on regional markets that have potential for outbound travellers and in this respect India has been its mainstay. According to Dangi, "India promises immense opportunities for us in the segments of religion, adventure, leisure holiday and honeymoon. And good air connectivity between India and Nepal only helps. So the percentage of Indian tourists mostly hinges between 25 and 30 per cent of the total arrivals."

But currently, Dangi has other things on his mind. A constant and often daunting challenge for the tourism board is overcoming negative publicity in Nepal that must be projected as a perfect tourism destination. He says, "The challenges we currently face are two-fold. Firstly, we have to reposition Nepal's image in the international market as a tourist destination. And the fund crunch only makes things worse." Dangi adds that although Nepal is a safe destination, the board still finds the need to clear the air. "But we do not have the budget to advertise. So we are doing our best to counter negative news by providing factual report through press releases and our website," he says.

Apart from this, the board is also making efforts to put its message across by participating in international travel marts. "Fairs and road shows have their own role to play towards enhancing the image of a destination. They are an integral part of any destination promotions," he adds.

NTB's statistics suggest that most travellers visiting the country return to discover a different aspect of Nepal. "This needs to be complemented with a campaign that will redress the longstanding problems associated with tourism marketing. E-marketing must be made an indispensable part of marketing and we have now started to promote Nepal through the Internet. We have upgraded our interactive website with many high quality images and up-to-date information about Nepal and is linked to many national and international websites for wider viewership. We have also started sending e-newsletters that goes to more than ten thousand people related to the travel industry every week," Dangi says. The board is also slated to introduce an interactive CD that gives information about Nepal.

Considering that tourism is an important avenue as far as the country's economy is concerned, the board is leaving no stone unturned. It has launched a system of collecting a Tourism Service Fee that enables it to collect fee from tourists directly from the airport. This system replaces the practice of collecting two per cent fee from tourists through different services they consumed during their stay in Nepal such as hotels, restaurants, guides, etc. This new provision has done much to strengthen NTB's financial position.

Another challenge for the board in recent years has been striking a balance between growing tourism and maintaining Nepal's ecological sanctity. But it has now managed to set up a reliable economic model. Dangi says, "The private sector, by far, has been the backbone of sustainable tourism in Nepal. The King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC), the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal and the Kathmandu Environment Education Projects (KEEP) are a few private organisations that are working towards this." KMTNC has been involved in the Annapurna and Manaslu area and it has been successful in linking tourism with poverty alleviation in the rural areas. KEEP contributes to conserving the Himalayan environment, particularly from the impacts of tourism. Even the Sagarmatha Conservation And Forest Preservation (SCAFP) and the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Project from the private sector are active in protecting the environment and conserving the flora and fauna of the Everest region.

Future Plans

Nepal has been traditionally known as an adventure destination. But NTB has been trying to consciously change its perception. Dangi says, "We want to change pre-conceived notions about Nepal by promoting different aspects that it has to offer such as pilgrimage, cultural and wildlife tourism. Being the birthplace of Lord Buddha, Nepal is a great pilgrim place for Buddhists the world over."

Having said that, he acknowledges the hazards of making a sporadic shift in the promotional paradigm and says that the board has not altogether deviated from its traditional product marketing mix. "For many travellers, Nepal still means adventure, mountains and temples," he adds. But it has become more focused in re-branding its image and is implementing its strategies based on authentic statistics and research. "We are also getting technologically savvy; we are making complete use of the Internet, equipping our office with a LAN connection, to reach a wider audience," Dangi reveals.

The tourism board is currently finalising a new brand strategy that will have more focus on short haul regional markets that have good air connectivity. Dangi believes, "It takes a little more time to build confidence among long-haul travellers. Our future strategy is to go for regional marketing, which we believe will yield better and faster results."